Stay
by chocolate-thief
Summary: Henry accompanies Jo on a case and something goes horribly wrong... Is this the end? What lies in store for our favourite police and M.E team? Can they salvage their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

**So I finally finished the first chapter of my new story! Hope you enjoy it guys :)**

'You're not coming, Henry.' Jo said, picking up her bullet proof vest and putting it on.

'Why not?' Henry questioned, leaning on the edge of her desk.

'Umm, let me see,' Jo tilted her head on the side. 'is this a dangerous operation?' Henry opened his mouth to speak but Jo cut him off before he could start. 'That was rhetorical. There is no way you're coming, Henry. Absolutely not.' Henry sighed looking resigned.

'Why the long face doc?' Hanson asked, walking up to Jo's desk.

'I'm not allowed to accompany you detectives to the factory.' Henry said, referring to the building the detectives were going to. Hanson looked taken aback.

'Why not? Lieutenant Reece not let you or something? As long as you wait outside I don't see a problem.' Henry gave a wry grin, glancing at Jo.

'Detective Martinez, actually.' Hanson chuckled softly, looking over at Jo.

'Aw come on Jo. Let the doc come. But you wait outside, yeah?' He said turning to Henry, how inclined his head.

'Of course.'

'If you don't wait outside, I will personally kill you.' Jo told Henry, smiling slightly.

'That's if he's not already dead.' Hanson spoke up.

'True.' Jo nodded. 'If you die I'll have you brought back to life so I can kill you again.'

'I look forward to it.' Henry spoke quietly, laughing slightly. 'Although I assure you I'll wait outside.'

'Stay here, Henry.' Jo whispered over her shoulder as she crept forward, her gun in her hands. Hanson followed a few paces behind, with a few other cops. Henry smiled to himself. She worried about him too much. Worried that he would get hurt. Worried that he would get killed.

He waited outside the abandoned, derelict building, listneing for the call of 'Clear!', so he could join the others inside. He surveyed the broken windows on the ground floor, the glass glittering in the late afternoon sun where it had fallen on the grass.

Henry waited a few more minutes, growing restless. The silence engulfed him as he wondered what was taking them so long. He began walking towards the building, the knee high grass making a swishing sound as he strode through it. He entered the building, feeling the air cool as he stepped out of the sun. Henry flinched slightly as he took a step and the sound echoed all around the room. If he listened closely he could hear the steps of others echoing around from the other rooms.

Frowning he began walking towards a door leading into another large room. As Henry passed through the doorway he realised that with all the echoes it was impossible to tell who was where and what they were doing. If the person they were looking for was in the building, they could escape easily, as long as they didn't encounter a police officer.

Henry passed under the doorway, slowly turning to examine the room. It appeared to be what used to by the main room of the building, with old desks and chairs stacked around the edge. As Henry continued examining the room he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He spun around to see… nothing but a pile of tables, chairs and broken bookcases.

 _Maybe it was a mouse or something._ Henry thought, trying to convince himself. He took a few steps closer, the echoes of his footsteps echoing around the room, combining with the echoes of the other detectives. Cautiously he rounded the edge of the pile and saw…

'Jo!' He cried, rushing to her side. She was lying in a large pool of blood, a bullet wound in her stomach just under the bottom of her vest. Her eyes were full of fear.

'Oh, Jo.' Henry said softly, putting his hands on her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. It wouldn't work though, he knew that. Jo needed urgent medical attention if she was to survive. Henry felt the tears rise in his eyes as he contemplated another person he loved leaving.

'I-I didn't hear them…the echoes…' Jo whispered, eyes

'Shhh, don't try and talk.' Henry said, reaching for her pocket where he knew he would find her phone. There were medical staff waiting outside the building; a requirement for high risk cases . To his surprise Jo raised her hand, pushing his away weakly.

'It's to-too late, He…Henry. Even I know…know that. You hav…have to go. H-he might come ba…ack. Find Hanson an-and the ot..others.' Her eyes closed slowly. 'Please, Henry.' She breathe quietly.

'No, you're going to be okay.' Henry said, mainly to himself. Jo's eyes flickered open. 'Jo, stay with me!' Henry said, feeling relieved when he saw her eyes open. The hope in his eyes faded as he saw the life in Jo's beginning to fade. 'Hold on, Jo. It's going to be fine.' He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Her eyes briefly focused on his face before slowly shutting again.

'Hen-Henry, please… go. I don't want… want you hu…urt.' Her breathing was slowing now.

'I'm not going anywhere, Jo.' Henry said softly. 'I'm sorry I couldn't do more.' Jo's eyes opened once more, filled with pain.

'No, Henry. I'm sor-sorr…' Jo breathed out, her breath rattling in her lungs. Henry waited for her chest to rise again, but the breath never came. Her head rolled to the side, and her hand relaxed in his.

 **Cliffhanger! Sorry... I should have the next chapter up some time towards the end of this week, hopefully before the weekend, but no promises... 'till next time :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So it took me longer than I had hoped but here is chapter 2! Enjoy!**

'Jo…' Henry breathed, tears streaming down his face. One fell on Jo's face, resting on her lips. It glistened there for a minute, until Henry reached to brush it away. As he did so he felt the softness of her lips and the faint tickle of her breath on his knuckles- Henry sat up, she was breathing!

Henry found Jo's pulse in her wrist, but it was very faint. With his hope renewed he quickly reached into her pocket for her phone. If he phoned quickly there was possibly still hope for Jo. Henry's fingers brushed the cool, hard edge of Jo's iPhone, and he pulled it gently out of her pocket, careful not to move Jo. Henry turned it over, trying to remember how to use it, only for his heart to sink when he saw the screen. Large cracks ran across it, with a large dent in the middle. It must have happened when Jo fell to the floor after being shot. Hesitantly, he pushed the power button, hoping to see _slide to unlock_ flashing across the screen.

The phone lit up, and for a moment he was relieved, but then his heart sank again. The screen had lit up, but with multi-coloured squares and lines. Henry sighed as he realised there was no way he was going to be calling for help.

 _I'm going to have to go and find someone._ He thought. _I hope Jo will be alright._

Gently he let go of her hand and stood up, careful not to disturb her. Henry used his scarf to carefully bind the wound. It might not save Jo, but hope fully it would keep a little pressure on the wound and help slow the bleeding.

Once his task was done Henry rushed from the room to find help.

'Hello? Hanson? Anyone?' He called loudly as he rushed from room to room. He passed through a door way and almost crashed into some one running towards him.

'Hanson.' Henry sighed in relief.

'What are you doing here?' Hanson asked. 'I thought Jo told you to wait outside.'

'This is not the time, detective.' Henry panted. 'Jo was shot. She's lost a lot of blood but if we are quick she might make it. Her phone is broken you need to call for help!'

'Good god.' The detective exclaimed, grabbing his phone. 'Where is she?' He asked urgently, holding the phone up to his ear. Henry spun around and quickly led the way back to the room where he had left Jo.

'She's just behind here.' He called over his shoulder to Hanson, who was talking to paramedics on the phone. Henry rounded the edge of the desks and froze, nearly causing Hanson to run into him. Together they stared at the floor. There was nothing there to show that Jo had ever been there.

'It must be the wrong room.' Henry said, beginning to panic. If they didn't find Jo soon… He didn't want to even think about it.

'Hey, Henry, look.' Hanson said quietly, taking a step forward. He bent down and pulled out something Henry hadn't seen. A small, balled up wad of fabric.

'My scarf.' Henry whispered, taking it from Hanson. He turned it over in his hands before stretching it out to its full length. The grey scarf was covered in blood from when Henry had used it to try and stop Jo's bleeding. Now that he looked closely, he could see faint smears of blood on the floor.

'It's the right room, Henry.' Hanson said softly as medics and other cops began to fill the room behind them. 'Looks like the shooter came back for her.'

Henry was sitting in a state of shock in Lt Reece's office when Abe turned up. Hanson had called Abe as soon as they got back, asking him to come down.

'What's happened?' Henry heard him ask Lt Reece as he continued to stare down at the now cold coffee in his hands.

'They were on a case.' He heard the lieutenant reply. 'Jo was shot-'

'Oh my!' Abe exclaimed, cutting her off. 'Is Jo alright?'

'Well, we're not actually sure.' Lt Reece replied sadly. 'Henry went to get help and when they got back she was gone. Forensics found blood marks at the scene, so we think that the shooter must have come back for her when Henry left the room and tried to quickly clean the blood up, so there was no evidence of anything. The building is very large, so it would have been relatively easy for them to avoid police.'

'Poor Jo.' Abe said softly, glancing over his shoulder at Henry who sat silently in the corner. 'You think she's probably…' He trailed off, hoping Lt Reece would understand what he was trying to say.

'Unfortunately, yes.' She looked down. 'Henry said she had lost a lot of blood, so we aren't holding out much hope at this point in time.' The lieutenant looked up again, meeting Abe's eyes as she did so. 'Henry's taking it quite hard.'

'So I see.' Abe murmured. 'I'll take him home. I hope her body is found.'

'So do I.' Lt Reece answered.

Abe helped Henry to the car, before getting in himself. They drove in silence for a while before Abe cleared his throat, looking over at Henry who sat in the passenger seat.

'You wanna talk about it?'

'Not really.' Henry's voice was flat and lifeless. Abe continued driving in silence for a while before trying again.

'How are you feeling?'

'I said I don't want to talk about it, Abraham.' Henry said, voice rising. 'It's my fault she's gone. If I had stayed with her, or been faster at finding someone she might still be here, but she's not. That's my fault and I'm going to have to live with that forever.' He fell silent again, staring out the window with a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

'I'm sorry, pops.' Abe said quietly. 'But it's not your fault. If you had stayed with her and not gone for help she would have died in front of you. You did what was right, and it was just unlucky the other guy came back. I'm sure Jo would be thankful for what you did for her.' As he glance at Henry out of the corner of his eye, Abe saw him smile a little, sadly.

'Thanks, Abraham.'

 **Another (sort of) cliffhanger. What happened to Jo? Where is she? How will Henry cope? Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter, I kind of got distracted with school stuff-exams are coming up soonish :(**

For the next few days it was almost like Henry was on auto-pilot. To Lucas it was as if he went through the motions but wasn't really there. He drifted through work, but Lucas and Hanson often caught him just staring into space, thinking.

'Henry? You ok?' Lucas asked one day after Henry had been staring at a body for a while.

'What? Oh, yes I'm fine.' Henry smiled at his assistant slightly before looking back down at the body. 'Our victim died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head.' He bent down, peering at the back of the head with a magnifying glass. 'From shape and size of the indentation I would say maybe a stick or a bat.' Henry made some notes on the file in his hands before holding it out to Lucas.

'Would you be able to take this up to Detective Marti-Hanson, please Lucas?' He asked, stumbling over Jo's name.

'Sure thing Doc.' Lucas said, grabbing the file and making his escape out of the morgue. He could see that Henry was going to get emotional, and when people got emotional, Lucas knew he often made things worse.

Lucas was right. The moment he had left the morgue, file in hand, Henry had entered his office and sunk into his chair.

He was missing Jo like crazy. The sound of her voice, her laugh, her sarcastic comments and her alertness. Nothing could ever get past her. Except her killer. He managed to catch her at a moment where she was unaware of him. And he killed her. He had even taken her body away, leaving him with nothing.

It was like when Abigail went missing, Henry reflected. There one minute, gone the next. After that he had learnt his lesson; not to get attached to people in his life, people who he would have to eventually watch leave him, one way or another. But when Jo had worked into his life…

Henry bit his lip, trying not to cry. When Jo had walked into his life all that changed. He found himself opening up to someone in a way he hadn't since Abigail. For so long he had only had Abraham, and then suddenly, he had Jo as well.

Henry sighed to himself. Sure, he hadn't told her his secret, but it was still nice to have someone else there. Someone else he knew he could trust if he absolutely had to. Maybe Adam was involved somehow. He had taken Abigail away from him; maybe he had decided to also take Jo?

Henry shook his head. _Stop being so paranoid._ He told himself. _Adam is still in the hospital._

He flashed back to the moment he had seen Jo, lying in that huge pool of blood. She had looked so impossibly tiny, and almost fragile in that moment, surrounded by her deep red blood. Henry blinked a few times, clearing the image from his mind.

All he could do for now was to carry on and hope that Hanson and the others found out what had happened, and held Jo's killer responsible for her death. He pushed his chair back, standing up to make his way back into the morgue where he could see Lucas had returned.

'I gave the file to Hanson, but I'm not sure when he will look at it.' The assistant M.E said. 'I think he's more focused on finding Jo's body- I mean Jo. He's more focused on finding Jo.' He quickly corrected himself. Henry gave a sad smile.

'It's ok, Lucas. I think we all know by now that it is highly unlikely that she is still alive. She would have needed urgent medical attention for her gunshot wound.'

They bent over the next body, preparing to start the autopsy. Henry had just positioned the knife to make the first incision when Hanson burst into the morgue.

'Lucas, Doc, we got something on the case!' Henry and Lucas looked up, turning to each other before returning their eyes to the detective in front of them.

'Already?' Henry asked, slightly confused. 'Lucas was under the impression that you wouldn't look at the file for a while.'

'File?' Hanson frowned. 'What file? No, this is to do with Jo's case!' He spun on his heel and began heading back towards the elevator. The two started after him in shock. Hanson was halfway across the room when he realized Henry and Lucas weren't coming, and turned around to face them.

'You coming?' He asked, 'Or do you want me just to tell you what happened after?' Henry and Lucas both chuckled slightly, putting down their tools hurriedly and following Hanson out of the morgue still wearing their lab coats and gloves.

'He handed himself in around an hour ago.' Hanson filled Lucas and Henry in as they stood watching Lt Reece question a man, possibly in his mid-20s, a few minutes later. 'The lieutenant insisted on questioning him personally because this case involves one of our detectives.' Henry nodded, watching intently.

'I wonder why he handed himself in.' Lucas said absent-mindedly. 'He had pretty much gotten away. There was no evidence or anything at the crime scene.'

'Guilt?' Hanson shrugged. 'The main thing is, is that know we might be able to find out where Jo is.'

The three lapsed back into silence as they watched Lt Reece pace back and forth in front of the mirror, firing questions at the man, who sat with his head down looking at the table.

'Why did you hide out at the abandoned warehouse after you murdered the teenage girl? Surely you would have known we would have come looking for you there after we arrested your accomplice.' The man just shrugged, not looking up.

'And why did you decide to hand yourself in?'

'I felt guilty. I didn't mean to kill anyone. Not the girl or the cop.' Lt Reece's face turned even more serious.

'Ahh, yes. Detective Jo Martinez.' She slid a photo of Jo across the table to the suspect. 'She was one of our best. Tell me, why did you return and take her body?' The man finally looked up.

'What? I didn't move her body?' The lieutenant's eyes narrowed and she leant on the table, her face near the killers.

'Where is it then? When our people returned after going to get help, she was gone.'

'I don't know!' The man yelled back, rattling the handcuffs that attached his hands to the table.

Henry felt faint, and his spirits faded. He had hoped that know that they finally had someone in custody, they would be able to find out where Jo was.

'Maybe someone else took the body?' Henry heard the man saying. 'Someone who wanted to frame me, perhaps. I'm not su…' Henry turned out to what the man was saying. There were only 3 words in his head.

 _Where is Jo?_

 **Did ya like it? Again I left you with a sort of cliff-hanger... ooops :) So I'll try and have the next part up by the end of the week but again no promises... Don't forget to review and see ya next time my lovelies :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you go peps :) Chapter 4:**

Henry had gone home after Lt Reece had finished interviewing the suspect to an empty house, as Abe was out with friends. He sat on the couch, looking through photos of him with Jo, and some with Hanson, Lucas and Lt Reece in them as well. Henry usually avoided photos, as he didn't want any trace of him left behind when he moved on, nor did he want any of his past lives to come back to haunt him, and for people to start asking questions. It was Hanson and Lucas who persuaded him into photos or took them when he wasn't looking. To his surprise, Jo had often not wanted to be in photos either. He had always thought she was the kind of person who would love photos, but more often than not it was her and Henry behind the camera, except for the rare occasions when they were argued into it.

Now, holding the photos in his hands, Henry was glad he had let himself by persuaded into them. They gave him something to remember Jo with now that she was gone.

 _She is gone, but gone where?_ Henry wondered. And what if she was still alive? Henry ran through all the possibilities in his head. If the person who had taken her had immediately put pressure on her wound to stop the blood loss there was a chance that she hadn't lost much more blood than she had when he was with her. The fact that there was little blood around the room where she had been supported this idea. If she had a bandage or something wrapped around the wound it wouldn't have dripped blood onto the floor… but she had still lost a lot of blood.

 _Probably too much to survive._ Henry thought sadly. If only he had got to her sooner, or hadn't left her to go and get help.

He heard the bell jingle downstairs as the shop door opened. Henry had locked it behind him so knew it must be Abe returning home. Sure enough, a few seconds later his son's voice wafted up the stairs to the apartment, where Henry was sitting in the lounge.

'Henry? You home? Detective Hanson called, told me you'd come home.' His climbed the stairs, feet tapping on the wooden steps.

'Did he tell you about what the suspect said?' Henry asked almost lifelessly before turning to face Abraham, who paused for a moment.

'Yeah. I'm sorry Pops.' He crossed the room and sat down on the sofa next to Henry. 'I know you want to know what happened to her, but in this circumstance isn't no news good news? I mean, if she was dead surely whoever took her would have dumped the body or something. But they're hanging on to her. In my opinion that probably means that she is still alive and has something they want.' He stood up and stretched, heading for the kitchen.

'Think positive, Henry.' He called with his head in a cupboard. 'Now. What are we going to have for dinner.' He opened the fridge and rummaged through the contents. Henry smiled to himself as he rose to join his son in the kitchen. He knew Abraham was trying to distract him, but it was working.

Soon the scent of tomato and herbs filled the small apartment. 'I'll put the pasta on in a minute, ok? Abe said as he disappeared down the corridor. 'I'm just going to get changed…' His voice was cut off as he shut the door behind him. Henry continued to stir the simmering pasta sauce, but soon found his thoughts drifting back to Jo.

She had to be somewhere. If their suspect hadn't taken her then who had? And why would they want to frame the shooter? He was already responsible for shooting Jo.

Henry ran the crime scene back through his head. He remembered the pile of furniture, the few blood smears on the floor near to where Jo's body had been… Why had whoever took the body bothered cleaning up the blood?

 _Before we thought it was because whoever ad shot her had wanted to clear up the evidence, but if it wasn't the shooter who moved her body, then why would whoever it was bother doing that?_ Henry asked himself.

He was still mulling it over when Abraham entered then room behind him.

'How's the sauce going?' He asked, causing Henry, who hadn't heard him walk in, to jump.

'Ohh darn!' Henry yelled as he knocked the pan over. Hot tomato sauce splattered onto the tiles and cabinets as the pan clattered onto the floor.

'Well there goes dinner.' Abraham commented. 'Want a hand clearing it up?'

'No.' Henry laughed slightly. 'I can do it.'

'If you're sure.' Abe said, surveying the mess. 'I'll be in the lounge if you want any help.'

Henry sighed as he got a sponge out of the cupboard under the sink. Abe had broken their mop a few weeks ago and they hadn't gotten around to buying a new one yet. He kneeled on the cold hard floor and began wiping the sauce into one area. Once it was all in one spot he could soak in up using a few paper towels.

When it was all together, Henry sat back on his heels and wiped his forehead. Pulling his pocket watch out of his pocket he saw that almost half an hour had past and he still hadn't finished cleaning the sauce up.

'You sure you don't want some help?' Abe asked as he walked back into the kitchen to get a drink. 'It's weird.' He continued, putting his head on one side and looking at the puddle of sauce and the splatters on the floor around Henry and on the furniture. 'The colour of the sauce and the way it looks on the floor, it almost looks like blood.'

'Thank you for that Abraham. I'm sure I'm not going to want to eat pasta with tomato sauce…' Henry trailed off.

'What is it?' Abe asked, seeing the conflicting emotions that were running through Henry's eyes.

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter :) I think next chapter will be the one where Henry finds out what happened to Jo... ohhh suspense!**

 **Don't forget to review and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon... it's been taking me a little longer because of school work, and also because recently I've begun watching Castle and I'm trying to catch up to where the show is up to here in New Zealand (season 7). I start to watch one episode and I kinda get distracted and watch like 3... but I'll try and finish chapter 5 soon! Love ya :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**IM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I feel so bad. Next time I'll try and update faster. That's a promise :)**

'It does look like blood, the thickness of it and everything. And just look at how long it has taken me to clean this up. I was only away from Jo for maybe 5 minutes or so. There would have been no way the killer would have been able to clean up all of Jo's blood in that amount of time. It's not possible.'

'Henry?' Abe asked hesitantly, 'What are you thinking?'

'I don't know.' His father answered, looking thoughtful. 'There has to be some kind of explanation, but I can't think what it could be.' He bent back down and finished clearing away the remainder of the sauce.

Ten minutes later he and Abe were sitting down to eat. Abe had whipped up a new sauce and cooked some pasta while Henry had gone to have a shower and switch his tomato stained clothes for some clean ones.

'Nice choice of clothes, Pops.' Abe said, nodding at Henry's clothes. 'Not your usual style though.' He raised an eyebrow. Henry gave a slight chuckle, glancing down at the NYPD sweat pants and sweatshirt he was wearing; remnants of the last time he was detained for public indecency after a death.

'I wanted something comfortable, and besides, it reminds me of Jo. She was always teasing me about wearing these after I was arrested for 'skinny dipping' that time.'

'You had a good bond with her, Henry.' Abraham reached across the table and rested his hand on Henry's. 'You don't really, let people in, I guess. I mean, I know why, but to others you're just a very private person. With Jo you are different. Even I could see that.'

Henry narrowed his eyes at his son. 'What are you getting at?'

Abe sighed before replying. 'I think she could have been your next Abigail. Hey, hey, hear me out!' He said quickly, seeing Henry's scepticism. 'You trusted her more than you have trusted anyone for a while. You never let yourself get close to anyone because you are afraid of losing them, either through death or because we have to move.

'But with Jo, you seem more at ease. You've let her in a little, and you've grown close to her. When I saw how you were with her, Henry, I thought maybe you could stop running, stop hiding, even if only for a little while. I thought you could have had a life outside of work. With Jo.' Abe finished softly, watching Henry to see his reaction.

His father stared at the table cloth for a minute before shaking his head. 'It would never have worked Abraham. You know that. Sooner or later we would have had to leave again and that would be a lot harder if I Jo and I were… I wouldn't want to leave her but it wouldn't be fair to uproot her from her life here with the NYPD. Anyway, it doesn't make a difference. She is still missing and we don't know what has happened to her.'

'Yeah.' Abe agreed. 'And we still don't know how whoever moved her body cleaned up the blood in that amount of time.'

'Mmm.' Henry agreed, looking into space. 'I don't know what it is but there is something about this situation that seems familiar. I just can't put my finger on it.'

Abe snorted in laughter. 'Not to be rude, Henry, but what could possibly be familiar about a person dying, their body disappearing to god knows where and all of their blood disappearing as well, just to top it off. I mean admit it, it sounds ridi-' He was cut off as Henry jumped up, his chair scarping on the tiled floor.

'I got it! You know why it sounds familiar?' He asked, gathering up his coat.

'Ummm, no.' Abe said slightly sarcastically. 'Please enlighten me. Why does this sound familiar?'

'Because,' Henry paused, looping his scarf around his neck and shrugging his coat on. 'It's what happens to me every time I die.'

'Wait wait wait, are you saying Jo is immortal?' Abe followed Henry as he went down the stairs into the shop.

'It sounds weird, but we both know how possible it is.' Henry replied, grapping Abe's car keys before unlocking the door and stepping out into the brisk night air, accompanied by a tinkling sound from the bell over the door. He paused for a minute on the sidewalk and Abe joined him.

'Well where are you going to go looking for her?' He asked. 'It's late at night Henry and you have no idea where to start. And if she really is immortal, then I don't think this is her first time dying. If it was I think she would have been found by now. But she's managed to evade you all for a week. If you're right, then she had a plan in case this happened, like you have plans. And if Jo is anything like you then she is probably halfway across the world by now.'

'Not necessarily.' Henry passed Abe's keys to him and walked towards the car parked on the side of the road. 'To get halfway across the world she would need a passport. I don't doubt that she has fake ones hidden somewhere, but before she can use them she has to get them. She wouldn't have gone to her house right away to get them because she knows to wait until the case dies down a little.'

'Well what makes you think she will be there now?' Abe asked as he turned the car on before indicating and pulling out of the park.

'I don't know if she will be there. But it's been a while so hopefully she might make her move soon.'

As the car disappeared into the distance, its red tail lights fading, a woman stepped out of the shadows. Her normal brown hair had been dyed blonde with light brown streaks to match the passport she had hidden away at home.

Jo sighed. She had been hoping to get Henry's help in getting her passport, so that she didn't have to risk going to her home herself. She had no choice now. She was planning on getting a flight in the morning and this was her last chance to get her passport.

She was also hoping to say goodbye to Henry.

 **Dun dun dun dunnnnn! Sooooo I know at least one person predicted this but hopefully there was still some surprised faces? Please review I love reading them :) I will try and update soonish but exams are coming up and they are kinda important so I might start updating just once a week. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here you go lovely peps, chapter 6!**

Abe pulled to a stop outside Jo's house. 'Now what?' He asked, turning to face Henry.

'I'm not sure.' He admitted, frowning slightly. 'I suppose I'll try the door, and see if it was accidently left unlocked by the forensics teams who were here after Jo disappeared. I highly doubt it, but it's worth a try.' He opened the car door and climbed the stairs to Jo's house.

Henry's heart was hammering in his chest as he got closer and closer to Jo's door, and his mind started reeling. What if she was behind the door? What if she was planning on running? What would he do then?

He slowly lifted his hand towards the door knob. He paused for a moment when he noticed it shaking, the only thing moving in the cold, still night.

 _No._ He corrected himself. _It's not just your hand shaking, it's your entire body._ He took a deep breath to calm himself, before twisting the doorknob.

Nothing happened.

 _Of course it's locked._ He thought. _Did I really expect it to be open?_ He walked back down the stairs to where Abe was still sitting in the car. Opening the door he slid into the passenger seat, rubbing his hands together to warm them.

'Do you have a plan b?' Abe asked, breaking into Henry's thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

'Of course.' Henry replied with a smile. 'I was thinking maybe to just wait a while on the stairs. I have my warm coat so I will be plenty warm enough.'

'And you think that Jo will still come up to her house if she sees someone sitting on the doorstep?' Abe asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow.

'I'm hoping that if she sees that it's me she might.'

'Ok then.' Abe commented, shrugging. 'Do you want me to stay or what?'

'No you can go. Thanks for giving me a lift here.' Henry replied, opening the car door again.

'Well you haven't driven in years so there's no way I'd trust you with my car.' Abe grumbled as the door shut behind Henry, who stood on the pavement and watched as the tail lights of Abe's car faded into the distance.

He sighed, watching his breath curl up into the sky, white and misty. Turning, Henry once again climbed the stairs to sit and wait for Jo.

If she turned up.

After the car containing Abe and Henry had disappeared, Jo began the long walk to her house.

 _I'll just have to hope there is no-one watching it._ She thought, shivering as she walked. Her warm winter coat was still hanging over the back of her chair at work and her spare one was in her wardrobe, and unfortunately she hadn't been able to find another.

She pulled the thin hoodie she was wearing tighter, sticking her hands into her pockets.

 _It's so quiet._ She thought to herself as she walked, looking around at the empty streets. _The last few days have been quiet as well. No Hanson teasing me, no Henry lecturing on whatever breakthrough he'd just made._ She sighed.

 _I wonder what they all think happened to me._ She kept walking. _To Henry it must have been awful. Leaving to get help and then coming back to nothing. Not even blood to show I was there at all._

She continued walking down empty streets, the dark cloudy night sky covering New York like a blanket, with no stars or moon in sight. Occasionally a car would speed by, briefly lighting Jo up in its headlights before it was past her, only small red lights and a fading noise to show that it had ever driven past. Jo found herself jealous of the cars, each containing people heading home to their families or out to meet friends. Friends who didn't think their friend and work colleague was dead and missing.

She almost wished there were more cars on the road. More cars meant an increased chance that someone she knew might drive past and recognise her, but it also meant distraction. When the road was once again silent she found her thoughts returning once again to Henry.

There was once a time where Henry's actions had led her to believe that they could be something. Of course once she found herself once again hurrying home in the dead of night wrapped only in an old blanket these beliefs had vanished, replaced with a frightening fear that Henry would make a move, and that she would have to turn him down in order to keep her secret. He had back off slightly, however. Whenever Jo felt like he was about to say something, or do something, that would take them past the point of no return he would back off. He'd stop whatever he was doing, put some space between them and return to his professional, efficient manner.

Now, as she walked along a dimly lit street, she reflected on those moments. How her heart had dropped momentarily every time he'd backed off, before she remembered how that was a good thing.

 _Why had he backed off anyway?_ She asked herself, looking to her right before steeping off the curb and crossing the road. Even in the short time since Sean's death she had been approached by many men in bars. She could see in Henry's eyes his feelings for her, and his attraction towards her. So why had he backed off? Why had he supressed his feelings?

She had seen the effort it had taken him to take that step back. Did he take it because he didn't want to risk their friendship? Or did he have some other reason? Maybe she had just misread his emotions; maybe he was never into her in the first place.

 _Yes, that was it_. She told herself as she continued walking through the inky night. Whenever he asked if she was ok, acted as though he cared for her, that was just as friends. She let herself believe this as she crossed another road, growing closer to her house. It would make leaving easier.

She turned the corner onto her road, jumping at the sound of a dog barking, the noise echoing down the empty street. She watched her feet as she walked; knowing from experience a lot of dogs in the area made their presence known on the streets. It wasn't until she was within 20 steps of the stairs leading to her front door that she looked up.

As soon as she did, she stopped still, as if she had become a statue. A dark figure sat alone on the top step. Jo was about to melt back into the shadows under a tree on the side of the road when something made her stop.

That… shape, the way the person sat. Upright, hands clasped in their lap. It reminded her of someone. It reminded her of…

 _Henry._ She whispered, the name leaving her lips with a small puff of breath that hung white in the air for a few seconds before disappearing. She thought she had said it quietly, too quietly for anyone to hear, but apparently she was wrong.

The person turned slightly from where they were sitting. In the pale light from a nearby street lamp, Jo saw their eyes widen slightly. A British accent made its way to her ears.

'Jo.'

 **I'll try and have the next chapter up within a few days... we'll see. And if anyone is interested, I got E (The NZ equivalent of A, it stands for Excellence) on my last two exams! I've only got 1 more before mocks (practice end of year exams) start in a couple of weeks :( But hopefully that means until then I'll be able to write more :) Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter seven guys! You're welcome ;)**

'Jo.' The sound of her name snapped Jo back into reality. Slowly she started melting back into the shadows, behind a tree.

'Jo, wait.' She heard his say before he stood up, coat rustling. Jo's heart was beating like a drum in her chest and she closed her eyes, trying to calm down. Before she had wanted to see Henry, to explain, but now she wasn't sure. She hadn't expected him to be here, almost like he was waiting for her.

'Jo.' Henry's voice was low and slightly to her left, and her eyes flew open. Turning her head Jo saw him, a dark shadow, nothing more, cast by the light of a streetlamp behind him.

'Jo,' His voice came again. 'It's just me. Don't be afraid.' His words triggered something inside her, and suddenly she was fleeing, as nimble and as silent she had ever been.

'Jo!' His voice followed her down the road. She heard him run after her, his feet pounding a rhythm on the concrete that matched her beating heart. Jo had no doubt she could escape him; years of running had helped with that. She could run like the wind, fast and quietly, feet making no sound as she dodged bushes and sped down the street.

'JO!' He called again, louder this time. 'STOP! Please!'

She continued hurtling down the road, hearing his voice growing fainter and fainter behind her. Eventually all was quiet, and all Jo could hear was her breathing and faint _tap tap_ as her feet hit the ground. Suddenly the peace was shattered as a loud noise filled the air. In the light streaming from a house window she caught a brief glimpse of a large dog lunging towards her, teeth bared in a sinister grimace.

She threw herself to the side, dodging out of the way.

 _Henry's sure to hear all this noise,_ she thought. _I'm going to have to lose him again._

Sure enough, as she went to keep running she heard his voice again. 'Jo!' He was calling. 'Please come back!'

 _Fat chance._ Jo thought. _I'm not going past that dog again._ She turned to look back as she ran, and saw the dog straining against its chain where it was tied to the gate.

Looking back was her mistake. As she brought her head back around to look where she was going she felt her foot slip on a pile of wet leaves. Jo fell heavily, her head hitting the ground with a crack. Pain washed over her, growing stronger as she lifted her hand to touch the back of her head. It came away feeling wet and sticky, and in the pale light of the streetlamps she saw that her hand was covered in blood. Jo's arm began shaking, and she lowered in to the ground. She felt herself becoming weak and she knew, from her numerous experiences with head injuries, that she would not survive.

'Jo!' Henry's voice was desperate now, the kind of desperate that comes from seeing your friend hurt themselves.

 _Great._ Jo thought, rolling her head to the side, ignoring the searing pain. _He must have been closer behind me than I thought._ Focusing her eyes took her longer than normal, but when she finally managed it she saw a figure running towards her, coat flapping in the wind.

When Henry reached her he knew immediately that the outcome wasn't going to be good.

'Jo.' He said quietly, brushing her hair off her face before pulling of his scarf. Jo frowned slightly, thinking he was going to use the scarf as a bandage for her head.

'Henry.' She whispered, 'You can't call an ambulance, o-ok?' Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. 'There is no-nothing you can do.'

'Shh Jo, it's going to be ok.' He said, still holding the scarf. He stretched it out before folding it into a small wad. Gently he lifted her head up and slid the scarf underneath.

'You deserve to die in comfort.' He said, smiling sadly. Jo was drifting in an out of consciousness, but his words still made it into her fuzzy brain.

'What?' She asked quietly, but Henry didn't hear her.

'All I ask, Jo, is that when you come back you don't just disappear again. Wait for me. I'll come pick you up.' Jo puzzled over his words, but before she could work them out, her life flashed before her eyes and she sat up with a gasp, her heart pounding. She took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart.

 _What did Henry mean when he said wait?_ She asked herself, before remembering another part of their conversation. _He said when you come back? How did he know?_

She stood up slowly, the long grass swishing around her as she began picking her way through the field. Eventually she reached the road, a long dirt strip disappearing into the distance in both directions. Jo found the tree where she had hidden a bag of clothes, and luckily they were still there. It had been a while since she last died. She got dressed quickly before pulling a small smartphone out of the back and turning it on. She could call Sean to come and-

 _No._ She stopped herself. _Sean is dead. You'll have to call a cab or something._

Once the phone had finished turning on she opened settings and turned on mobile data, mentally, thanking Sean for insisting she stash a decent phone out here, not just a basic one like she was going to get. She also thanked him for setting up an account that allowed her to pay for the phone bill at the end of each month, rather than a pre-paid one. The credit on one of those would have expired a long time ago.

She searched up cab company numbers, and was about to call on when she stopped herself.

 _Henry said he would come. I don't know how he knows where I come back, but he somehow worked out that I don't die. I'll wait for him for a while, see if he comes. This field is a little while outside town so it might take him a while._

Meanwhile, back in New York, an increasingly worried Henry was waiting with Abe at the river.

'I saw her disappear! She should have come back to life by now!' Henry panicked, leaning over the railings, looking down at the pitch black water.

'Maybe she did a runner, Henry.' Abe's voice came from the car. 'She might have been freaked out and decided to just disappear again.'

'I hope not.' Henry sighed. 'Poor Jo.'

 **Dun dun dun duuuuuuuh. Hope you liked it! I'll try get another chapter up this weekend but I have some exam prep and stuff to do so no promises...**

 **Also, hi to 'Dan' if you are reading this. Good luck with your exams! Us kiwis must stick together, there are so few of us on here.**

 **Bye guys! Have a good day :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8, hope you like it. It took me a while to write but hopefully the next chapter will be easier to write...**

Jo looked at the time displayed in the phones small screen for what seemed like the 100th time, her face lighting up an eerie blueish colour in the dark night.

 _Admit it, Jo, he's not coming._ She told herself. _Just catch a taxi home._

 _Just a few more minutes._ She reasoned with herself. _He might come yet._ She sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the grass in the field swish behind her.

 _He won't come. How would he know where you come back anyway?_ The nagging voice returned, and Jo had to admit, it had a point. How would Henry know where to come pick her up from? And if he had known he would have been here by now.

 _What if- no._ She cut her train of thought off, shaking her head to get rid of the idea that had been forming.

 _But- NO!_ Again she refused to even consider that option.

 _Great, now I'm arguing with myself._ She laughed quietly. _God, Martinez._

Silence once again enveloped her, the only sound the faint swishing of grass and the odd rustle in the undergrowth. In the silence, Jo once again found her thoughts returning to Henry.

 _How did he know I'd come back? Did he see me die?_ She cast her mind back. _No he was out the room. I would have heard him if he had come back._ Her long life and a childhood in South America had given Jo good hearing. But if Henry hadn't seen her die then that begged the question, how did he know?

'Henry!' Abe called from his seat in the car, sticking his head out the window. 'She's not here. Can we go, please? I'm freezing!'

'She should be here by now. I don't understand.' Henry muttered, his words whipped away by the gathering wind.

'What?' Abe yelled, 'I can't hear you.' Henry hurried back to the car.

'She should be here by now.' He repeated, lowering himself down into the passenger seat. 'I don't understand.' He stared through the windscreen, lost in thought. Abe reached out his hand and let it rest on Henry's arm.

'I think you're going to have to just accept that she's gone, Pops.' He said gently, putting the car into reverse and looking over his shoulder as he began to back out of the park. 'Though maybe give her a few days, see if she comes to you.'

'What do you mean?' Henry frowned. 'Why would she come to me later if she's run away from me now?'

'You probably spooked her.' Abe explained. 'She wouldn't have been expecting you. Maybe if she has time to think it over she might come to you when she is ready.'

'I just wish she could have trusted me.' Henry sighed to himself. Abe gave a soft snort of laughter.

'And this is coming from the man who would never tell Jo his secret.' He said, 'You can't really talk, Henry.'

'I know, but even when she saw me at her house I wish she could have trusted me.' They drove in silence for a few minutes before the heavens opened and it began pouring. Abe switched the windscreen wipers on and the rest of the journey back to the shop was accompanied by a soft _swish, swish, swish, swish_ sound.

Jo wasn't sure exactly when the wind started picking up. It seemed like one minute it was a gentle night breeze and the next it was well on its way to being a gale. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. The clothes she and Sean had hidden away all that time ago were not the warmest, she had to admit, but then again they hadn't ever expected her to be waiting there for that long. She wore a pair of jeans and a thin tee-shirt, along with a wrap-around cardigan.

Pressing the power button on the phone she saw that it was now well after midnight.

 _If Henry was coming,_ she thought, _he should be here by now._ She thought, her thoughts mirroring Henry's from a few minutes earlier. _I should just call a cab._

She unlocked the phone and opened up the internet app. She found the cab webpage she was on earlier and was about to ring the number it listed when, again, she found herself hesitating.

 _The Henry I know would have come._ She told herself. _If he said he would, he would. What if something happened to him? Maybe I should call him?_ She frowned, thinking it over.

 _Besides, a cabby would want to know why I'm out in the middle of nowhere so late at night. If I call Henry and he comes and gets me, then no awkward questions…_

As she searched up the phone number for Abe's Antiques, she told herself she was doing the right thing. That she shouldn't just run, but should talk to Henry first. There was something about him that didn't quite make sense; how did he know that she'd come back?

Finding the shops number, she pressed call. Slowly she raised her hand to her ear, listening and waiting.

'Oh crap!' Abe yelled, as he unlocked the door to the shop.

'What?' Henry asked as he followed Abe inside. 'And please don't use that language, Abraham. It's rather unsavoury.' Abe rolled his eyes at his father's reply.

'The phone just stopped ringing. I was expecting a costumer to call about a cabinet.' He sighed, muttering 'Damn.' under his breath.

'I'm sure they'll call back.' Henry said, unwinding his scarf from around his neck and shrugging off his coat.

'I guess.' Abe headed up the stairs to the apartment. 'Do you want a cup of tea?' He called over his shoulder.

'Yes please, I could do with something hot.' Henry replied. 'It's freezing outsi-' He was cut off by the shrill ringing of the phone.

'Can you get it?' Abe's voice wafted down the stairs. 'Tell them I'll be there in a minute.' Henry picked up the phone.

'Abe's Antiques this is Henry Morgan how can I help you?' There was silence on the end of the line.

'Hello?' Henry questioned. 'Hello?' He was just about to hang up when a small voice came down the line.

'Henry, it's me. Jo.'

 **I'll try get the next chapter up before the end of the week, but I've got an exam that's over two days and an essay on Friday so... no promises.**

 **Don't forget to review! And next chapter will hopefully answer some questions that you guys might have... like Jo's immortality...**


	9. Chapter 9

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CHOCOLATE-THIEF, HAPPY BIRTHAY TO MEEE! I'm now officially 16, which means I can drive! Finally! Anyway... here's another chapter!**

'Henry, it's me. Jo.' Her voice stunned Henry, leaving him breathless as well as voiceless. 'Henry?' He heard her speak as if she was in the distance, her voice tinny and distorted. 'Henry are you there?'

The phone fell from his grasp and landed with a thump on the desk.

'Henry who was it?' Abe asked, walking into the room. He noticed the phone on the desk and reached out towards it, meaning to put in back on the cradle.

'It's Jo.' Henry whispered, stopping Abe with just words.

'Well what did she say?'

Henry shook his head, his mind in turmoil. 'I don't- I don't know.' In the silence that followed Abe could hear the faint sound of Jo, still on the phone.

'Henry? Hello?' She was calling, 'Are you there?' Abe picked the phone up from where it had fallen onto the table.

'Jo?' He asked hesitantly, as if he didn't really believe it was her. Henry stood still, watching Abe.

'Uh huh.' Abe nodded. 'Oh, ok…. Yeah we'll be there soonish….. Ok, bye Jo.' As soon as he was off the phone Henry pounced.

'What did she say? Where is she?' He asked frantically.

'She's in the middle of nowhere,' Abe replied, 'but she says there is a gas station maybe a half an hour walk from where she is. By the time we get there she should be waiting.'

'Why is she there?' Henry asked, confused. 'Why would she run from the river to a field in the middle of nowhere and then call us?'

'I dunno.' Abe shrugged, snatching up his keys. 'All I know is that is where she is now and that she wants us to go get her. Maybe she just wanted to get away from the city where she might get recognised.'

'She came back into the city earlier though.' Henry pointed out, almost to himself. 'There is something odd here.'

'Well can you stop trying to work it out now and hurry up and grab your coat?' Abe was growing impatient. 'You can ask her when we get there.' Henry snapped back into reality and realised Abe, who already had his coat, was waiting for him.

'Sorry.' He muttered sheepishly, gathering up his coat and scarf and heading out the door, Abe following close behind.

Seconds later they were in the car and Abe was pulling out onto the road, which was deserted at this time in the morning. They drove in silence with the only sound the driving rain, the map book open on Henry's lap. Abe seemed to know that Henry didn't want to talk, and he left his father alone with his thoughts.

 _Why did I never realise Jo was immortal?_ He asked himself. _Just because I never saw her die before now doesn't mean she hasn't since we met? She didn't work out I was immortal, though. And why is she in the middle of nowhere? How did she get there?_ These questions spiralled around in his head before they were drowned out by bigger, and in Henry's opinion more important, questions and thoughts.

 _She's immortal. She's never going to leave. Maybe we can be something now?_ These thoughts followed Henry all the way to the turn off.

'It's this road Abraham.' Henry said, squinting at the map he held. The car turned slightly and began bumping down a narrow, dark country road. In the distance they saw light.

'That must be the gas station.' Abe said.

'Mmm.' Henry agreed absent-mindedly. Now that they were approaching Jo he was nervous, almost apprehensive. What would she say? What would he say?

 _What will it be like to look her in the eye again, to hear her voice?_ He wondered. _Everything has changed. Before I backed off because I didn't want to get too close to her, only to have her leave me or me leave her._

They drove into the gas station parking lot, and Henry's heart stopped. Sitting on a seat outside under cover, under a security light, was a small, shadowy figure hunched up as if they were cold.

 _What will it feel like when she looks at me?_ His thoughts were running away from him. _What will it be like to be in her presence again? It's been so long since we were together. Too long._

As they drove closer the figure lifted their head, and Henry saw dark curls blowing in the strong wind. His heart began pounding again, stronger than before. Abe pulled to a stop and Henry jumped out of the car, racing through the rain to reach Jo and shelter.

'Jo!' He called, his words disappearing into the growing storm.

'Henry!' She called back, rising to her feet. Henry reached Jo and she flung herself into his arms, holding on for dear life.

'Henry, I'm so sorry.' She cried, tears dripping down her face. 'I should have… I wanted to…' She trailed off.

'Come. Let's get you into the car and then you can tell me your story.' Henry took off his coat and draped it over Jo's shivering shoulders. 'You look like you're about to die of cold.'

'Thanks.' She smiled drily through her tears. 'But it wouldn't really matter.' Henry chuckled at that.

'Come on.' Together the rushed back towards the car and the waiting Abe, both climbing into the back seat. Abe switched the heating on and Jo sighed in comfort, looking down at her thin, soaking clothes under Henry's coat.

'I'm sorry if I get your car wet.' She pulled a face. 'I'm soaking.'

'Well that's what happens if you walk in the rain from a filed in the middle of nowhere.' Henry chuckled. 'What were you doing out there anyway?' He asked, his voice growing serious.

'Well if you had actually turned up like you said you were I wouldn't be so wet would I?' She snapped back. Henry frowned.

'I waited for you but you didn't show up so we left. Then you called saying could we come and get you.'

'I didn't see you. Did you even come or are you just saying that?' Jo accused him. Henry looked taken aback. Why did she doubt him? It was her who left, who didn't wait for him.

'Well maybe you would have seen me if you had waited a little longer before you left!' He exclaimed. Abe looked in the rear-view mirror and caught Jo's eye.

'He did wait for you Jo. He waited for about 30 minutes.'

'But I didn't move!' She protested. 'Well, maybe a little, but no more than maybe 50 feet.'

'Well how did you get to be out here then?' Henry asked. 'It's a lot more than 50 feet from the river.'

'The river?' Jo questioned, her forehead wrinkling as she frowned. 'I was never at the river.' Now it was Henry's forehead that wrinkled.

'But that's where you come back, isn't it?' He asked. Jo shook her head, her damp curls dripping water onto her shoulders.

'I come back in that field. Why would I come back in the river?' She asked, confusion in her voice. Abe now met Henry's eyes in the mirror. Henry gulped slightly before turning to Jo.

'It's a story for another time, I was mistaken. Now, tell me your story.' His words hung in the air. Jo opened and shut her mouth a few times before she could find the right words.

'It's a long story.'

 **SOOOO because of exams teachers keep asking if we have time for homework so we all just say no because we have to study, so very few teachers are giving homework out which means after studying I have lots of timeeeeee! It's marvellous! Sorry if I seem hyper by the way I've eaten a lot of chocolate cake because, come on, I'm the chocolate thief, I have to have chocolate cake on my birthday :)**

 **Anywayyyyy i hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry it took me so long... hope this chapter makes up for it :)**

'It's a long story.' Jo's face was calm but her voice wavered slightly, portraying her true emotions to Henry.

 _She's terrified._ Henry thought. _I don't blame her though; I would be terrified in her position too._

Abe drove in silence, letting Jo tell her story.

'It started about 200 years ago, I guess.' She continued. 'I was born in July 1819 in South America. My mother was European and my father was a native. Their marriage was unusual for the time, and my siblings and I were the only mixed children in the village. I'm not sure exactly whereabouts it was, but our village was in the rainforest, where my family grew crops. In 1852, when I was 33, I was out in the rainforest with my daughter and my brother's children. They were playing in a grass clearing and I saw a rattle-snake. It lunged at one of my nephews who'd gotten too close to it but I managed to push him away in time and it bit me instead. I sent the children back to the village to get help but they must have got lost either on the way back to the village or trying to find the clearing where I was.' Jo was staring straight ahead, almost as though she was talking to herself. Abe drove in silence, but occasionally he would glance in the rear view mirror at the two.

'Eventually I heard them coming but I was already losing consciousness. I heard my daughter calling for me, but that's the last thing I heard before everything went black. I woke up a few hours later, as the sun was going down. I wasn't wearing any clothes and I was alone in the forest. I walked home, but when I got there I saw the entire village gathered around a fire in the middle of the huts. They were singing and chanting, which they usually reserved for mourning a death or loss. I went closer and…' Jo shrugged and Henry saw she was trying to hold back tears.

'and they were singing about me. About my death. I later found out that when they got to the clearing I was gone and they assumed my body had been taken by a tiger, because at the time a tiger was hanging around our camp. That's why I was with the children in the first place, otherwise they would have been out playing by themselves.

'I went back into the forest, unsure of what to do. I wanted to go back to my family but they would have thought I was a spirit. In my culture it's a big thing if a spirit appears. At the time we believed that if the spirit of a person came back that their family has displeased the gods, and that family would be cast out of the village. I couldn't do that to my family and they wouldn't have believed it was truly me anyway. I decided to walk to Manaus, where I knew I could start a fresh or get a boat t another country. I must have died many times in the forest before I reached the city. Malaria, poisonous insects... you name it. I didn't know what was happening, I mean I just kept coming back to life in the nearest grass clearing, naked.

'Eventually I reached the city, where I worked for a while before I could buy a passage on a boat to England. I just wanted to by far away from my old life. I moved to New York in 1896. I've been here ever since. I served in both world wars as a nurse, and in the Vietnam War. Every time I die I come back in that same field. Sean suggested we leave some clothes and a phone nearby, so we did.' She turned to Henry with slightly wet eyes.

'You can't tell anyone. I moved to New York from London because someone found out about me, and before that I lived in multiple English towns and cities. I don't want to move again.'

'Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.' Henry chuckled slightly as they turned down a road, nearing the shop. Abe looked back at him in the mirror, his eyes sending clear messages.

 _Tell her, Henry._ Henry ignored his son.

'Thank you for trusting me.' He said to Jo. 'And for calling me when I didn't show.'

'About that.' Jo frowned slightly. 'Why did you think I would be at the river anyway?' Abe's eyes danced in the mirror, laughing at Henry. Henry could almost hear Abe's thoughts.

 _You're gonna have to tell her now Pops._

'It's a long story, too.' Henry said reluctantly. Jo laughed.

'As long as mine?'

'Longer.' Henry grinned. 'Mine starts in 1779. I was born to a wealthy Englishmen and his wife. In 1814, when I was 35, I was a doctor on board a slave ship. The captain was certain that a slave was sick and wanted to throw him overboard. I disagreed and said the man would be fine. The captain shot me and threw me overboard.' Henry was looking down at his lap, and didn't see Jo's changing facial expressions. The originally scared eyes that had relaxed when Henry had promised not to tell anyone were now wide and filled with a mixture of disgust and anger and were wide with what looked like fear to Abe, whose eyes flickered up into the mirror every couple of minutes.

'I too died many times before I made it back to England and my wife. Like you I didn't know what was happening at first. If I died I just came back in the nearest large body of water, and like you I come back naked.' Henry looked up and noticed Jo's facial expressions. He faltered slightly before carrying on, although slightly more nervously now.

'We're the same Jo. We both have the same condition.' Henry reached out to take her hand as Abe pulled to a stop outside the shop. His fingers interlaced with hers, still cold from the rain. It was this contact between the two that sparked Jo into action. She jerked backwards, away from Henry while blindly fumbling for the door handle.

'How could you?' She spat, eyes blazing like a fire burned within them. 'I let you in, I show you my biggest secret, and you mock me? Do you know how hard that was for me?' She flung the door open and leapt out.

'I hope I never see you again, Henry fucking Morgan!' She slammed the door and disappeared into the stormy night.

'Well that went well.' Henry was stunned. Jo never acted like that, and she certainly never swore. He pushed open his door and frantically climbed out of the car. 'Jo!' He called desperately into the inky blackness that surrounded him. He was being pelted by raindrops but he didn't care. All he cared about was Jo.

'Jo, please!'

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH bet you weren't expecting that! And if you were then you're a mind reader. A very good mind reader.**

 **Anywho did you like it? Review pleaseeeee I love reviews!**

 **Thanks for reading and ka kite ano! (goodbye/till I next see you in maori)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok so this chapter is a little 'dark' so here is the mandatory warning: TRIGGER WARNINGS**

 **As that is finished, please enjoy!**

'Jo, please!' Henry called into the dark night. He felt his clothes growing wetter and he shivered. The cold of the night went straight to his bones with no thick winter coat to keep his bodies warmth in. Not that it would have mattered anyway. His body felt cold, with no feeling.

 _How could Jo think I was mocking her?_ He asked himself. _Why would she think I would do a thing like that?_

'Henry, come inside.' Abraham's voice broke into his thoughts and he turned.

'In a minute.' Abe shrugged at his reply and shut the door, disappearing into the depths of the shop. Henry stared down the road, faintly lit from small, flickering lightbulbs. The street was silent; the only sounds the trees rustling in the wind and rain hitting the pavement.

Sighing, Henry turned to go inside. As he reached out for the door handle he turned round, just in case Jo was there. But all that greeted him was darkness, empty and lonely. The handle, when he grabbed it, was cold and it seemed to travel through his body to his heart, where it lodged like a shard of ice. As he pushed the door open the bell chimed. Henry frowned. It was too happy a sound, too cheerful. It reminded him of happier days and cheerful springs. It was at odds with the feelings in his chest, the feelings of sad days and brutal winters.

'I'll be down in my lab if you need me Abe.' Henry called towards the back of the shop before lifting the rug and trapdoor that led down to the basement. His feet clunked down the stairs, echoing in the room. He heard a faint 'ok' from Abe, but other than that it was silent.

The silence was perfect for brooding in. Alone with his thoughts, Henry sank into his chair and put his head in his hands.

 _Now what? Jo is gone and I'll probably never see her again. Her last memory of you is going to be one of hate. Without Jo, I might have well leave now. Start again somewhere fresh. She was the only one keeping you here._

 _No._ Henry's brain told him. _There is Lucas, Hanson and Lt Reece here as well. They are your friends too._ At this realization Henry felt himself sink even further into despair. He had, unknowingly, driven Jo away from her friends, her job and her life. She had been planning to leave anyway, but what she had said in the car kept coming back to Henry.

 ** _'_** ** _You can't tell anyone. I moved to New York from London because someone found out about me, and before that I lived in multiple English towns and cities. I don't want to move again.'_**

She'd changed her mind. Decided to stay. Henry had no idea what she was planning on telling Lt Reece and the rest of the precinct but she must have had something planned out. But now that was gone, and Jo was on the run. Again.

Henry was in dire need of some distraction, of something that would make it all stop. His thoughts were swirling inside his head, growing louder and louder until they were drowning him in their screams. He shook his head, trying to clear from it the demons that were trying to destroy him.

 _It's all you fault._

 _It's your fault Jo has gone._

 _Jo hates you_

 _You drove her away._

 _You have to live with yourself knowing that you killed her hopes for a normal life here with her friends._

 _It was your fault._

 _It was your_

 _It was_

 _It_

A final thought came into Henry's head, pushing him over the abyss and into the darkness that lay beyond.

 _You don't deserve this life when Jo can't have it. You took it from her._

Henry scanned the room frantically, looking for something, anything, to make it stop. To grow less. To rectify what he had done.

His eyes fell upon a neat line of tools laid out on his desk. The neat line thrust his fevered mind even deeper into the abyss. Before everything was orderly, and now it was all in disarray. He lunged at the tools, scattering them across the room.

Next he swiped at a shelf of poison, shattering glass bottles so that the shards of glass glittered in the light. Poison drip, drip, dripped from bottles, forming puddles on the wooden floors. The clear, seemingly harmless substance on the floor brought Henry back to himself. The pools of liquid, like the glass, shone in the light, reflecting back at Henry the good in the world. The opposite of darkness.

But the darkness returned. Stronger. Darker. Deeper. The puddles were now pools of temptation, and before Henry knew it he was reaching for the one bottle that hadn't broken. He opened the bottle and, raising it to his lips, took a large gulp. He felt the cool liquid slide down his throat, calming his nerves.

A few minutes later the cool liquid was hot, almost fiery. It burned and churned in his stomach, leaving Henry gasping on the floor. His life flashed before his eyes, Nora, Abigail, Abe and Jo, before everything went black and he burst out of the water in the river gasping.

Jo stormed away from the car, tears rising in her eyes and threatening to spill over at any moment.

 _How could Henry be so callous? To make fun of me?_ She wondered as she run down the street, hearing Henry call after her, 'Jo, please!'

Ignoring him she ran on into the night, focusing on getting as far away from him as possible.

 _How could I be so trusting? I should have learnt by now._ Jo scolded herself, slowing to a walk and pulling her coat tighter around her, buttoning it up around her neck, under her nose. She breathed in deeply. What was that smell? She froze. It wasn't her coat, it was Henry's coat.

 _Shit._ She thought. _I can't steal his coat. It was nice of him to give it to me, but…_ she felt fresh tears welling in her eyes.

 _His smell. It makes me miss him and hate him at the same time. He was the one person I thought I could love after Sean, and he's ruined my life._ She sighed turning around. _I'll just return the coat. I'll fold it up and leave it on the doorstep._

It was as she wrapped back to the shop that she realised how far she had run. It seemed to take her ages, but at last she reached the door to the small antiques shop just as the sun was beginning to bring life to a new day. She gently folded the coat and set it down on the ground by the door.

She turned to head back out into the city but froze as she saw a forlorn, hunched figure hurrying down the road, wrapped only in a torn, dirty old coat. Like it had done only a few hours earlier, his name left her mouth without her meaning it to.

'Henry.' His head whipped up, eyes wide with fright and filled with despair.

'Jo.' Her name left his lips uncertainly, like he was scared of how she might react.

'Henry, what are you doing? Why are you wearing a coat?' Most of Jo's anger had gone, replaced with worry for her… friend?

 _No, not friend, colleague._ She decided. _I'm still a little mad at him._

Henry paled visibly, pulling the coat tighter around him as if it was a shield.

'Oh, I was, umm, I was skinny dipping.'

 **Sooo watcha think's going to happen next? Please review I love reviews I'm a sucker for reviews! And happy birthday to my second (not through blood but through friendship) sister! Happy 15th Anna :) I have to go now because it's 10pm and my lights mean to be off so byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys! I wanted to post this yesterday but the page was down or something. So you get it today instead :) And hi to superlc529, I hope you're feeling better!**

'Skinny dipping?' Jo questioned, a frown forming on her face. 'It's freezing!'

'Well, it's not something I can really control.' Henry looked awkward, shuffling from one foot to another. Again he pulled the coat around him tighter, blocking Jo out as he looked away.

'Do you need something?' He asked. Jo thought she could detect a trace of hostility in his voice, but Henry being Henry he was trying to mask his anger.

'Sorry, what?' Confused, she looked at Henry, waiting for him to reply.

'Why did you come back?' He elaborated, giving her a pointed stare. 'I thought you never wanted to see me again.'

Jo felt her anger rising in her once again, replacing her concern. 'I came to drop off your coat, but I can see that I'm not welcome here.' She bent down and picked up the coat before holding it out. 'Here.'

Henry reached an arm out to take it, and as he did so his coat fell open. Jo saw a flash of pale skin before he clutched the coat to his chest, scowling at her. He stepped up to the doorstep, where just a minute ago his coat had rested as a sort of peace offering. He banged on the door a few times before steeping back, shivering.

'Look,' Jo began awkwardly, flinching slightly as Henry turned to face her. His eyes were hollow again, filled with despair and desperation. With loneliness.

'Look,' she began again, 'Can we talk? Please?' The silence stretched between them, growing longer and longer. In the silence Jo heard Abe's steps crossing the shop, although she didn't turn to look. Her eyes remained locked on Henry's, willing him to say yes.

'No. You made it quite clear that you were done talking.' He held out his hand. 'It was nice knowing you, detective. I suppose you'll be leaving the city again now. If not, maybe I'll see you around.' When Jo didn't accept his outstretched hand Henry turned to watch Abe fiddle with the lock on the door. Jo stared at him in disbelief. How he was acting was so unlike Henry it was scaring her.

Abe finally unlocked the door and it opened with a click.

'Thank you, Abraham.' Henry entered the shop.

'I see you found Jo.' Abe waved her in. As Jo stepped into the warmth she saw conflicting emotions race across Henry's face; first relief and then terror. The terror in him seemed to grow until it paled his cheeks and filled his eyes, making them wide.

Jo realised Abe had asked her a question and shook her head. 'Sorry what was that?'

'Where did he find you?' Abe repeated his question, gesturing at Henry.

'Oh, she found me, actually.' Henry answered for her drily, and when Jo made eye contact with him she saw he had gotten some of his emotions under control. '…you don't mind, I'm going to go and have a shower.' Henry was saying to Abe when Jo tuned back into their conversation. Abe's eyes seemed to widen slightly as he took in Henry's attire for the first time.

'Henry…' He sounded almost disappointed and sad at the same time and Jo frowned, trying to work it out. Henry said he couldn't control his skinny dipping; it was caused by sleepwalking or whatever it was, so why was Abe so upset over it?

'Later, Abe.' Henry flicked his eyes over to Jo, trying to convey a message. A message that Abe obviously understood, as he said no more about it, but instead turned to Jo.

'Would you like something to eat or drink while we wait for Henry to have a shower?'

'Sure, that would be lovely, thanks.' Jo smiled at Abe, but when she turned to Henry he was glaring at her. When they made eye contact he quickly smoothed his features into a neutral expression, before widening his eyes at Abe with a quick head tilt at Jo and heading up the stairs towards the bathroom.

'Tea or coffee?' Abe asked, leading the way up the stairs after Henry to the kitchen.

'Coffee, thanks.' Jo yawned. 'I feel as though I'm going to fall asleep at any minute.'

'Well that's what happens when you stay up all night.' Abe chuckled, rifling through cupboards. 'Is instant all right? It's all we've got.'

'No no it's fine.' Jo filled the kettle at the tap. Turning to Abe she asked,

'Why is Henry so mad at me?'

'Who? Henry?' Abe attempted to look shocked. 'Henry's not mad at you.'

'He doesn't want me here.' Jo stated matter-of-factly. 'I can tell from those eye gestured he made at you. He wants you to try and get rid of me.' Abe looked sheepish.

'Of course you'd pick up on those. You're a detective.' He poured the water into two cups, studiously avoiding eye contact with Jo for a minute or so.

'Is it because of how I acted when we were in the car?' She asked eventually. 'I know I maybe over reacted a little but… he offended me.' She accepted a mug of coffee from Abe and they sat down at the table.

'I would tell you, but it's Henry's story.' Abe shrugged. 'He'll be taking extra-long in the shower to make sure you are gone when he gets out, but we have more coffee so if you want to wait feel free.' Jo laughed at this.

'Thanks Abe.'

Henry stepped out of the shower cubicle into the steamy bathroom. He dressed quickly, running a towel over his head to dry his hair. Opening the bathroom door he poked his head out, listening to see if Jo was still there.

'Oh Henry, you're out of the shower.' Abe appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at him. 'Jo and I have finished the coffee but there is tea if you would like some.'

'Yes, thank you.' Henry made his way down the corridor, his bare feet padding softly on the wooden floor. He entered the kitchen and stopped abruptly. Jo was sitting at the table. She sent him a wary smile before looking back to Abe for reassurance.

'I forgot to mention Jo was still here, sorry.' Abe grinned at Henry, who glared at him. Turning to Jo he forced a small smile onto his face.

'So, Detective. What can I do for you?'

'I'm sorry, Henry, for how I acted earlier. It's just…' She looked down at the mug her hands were still cradling, even though the dregs of coffee in it were long cold. 'I guess I just didn't appreciate what you said. About us having the same condition.'

Henry thought fast. He was on dangerous ground. If he again brought up the subject of his immortality, he risked Jo running from him again. For the third time. Luckily Jo made the decision for him, carrying on with the conversation.

'Now that you know about my condition, I can continue to live and work here-'

'How?' Henry butted in. 'Sorry, but what are you going to tell the others?'

'I'll just say that I woke up in an alley way or something, and that I can't remember anything.' Jo shrugged. 'I've done this before.'

'But the gunshot? Everyone thinks you were shot.' Henry was confused. How could she fake a gunshot wound? Jo just smiled, lifting up the hem of her top. On her lower stomach there was an ugly red scar. It looked new.

'I get scars from my deaths. I'm not sure why, as I don't have a scar from when I first died, but I do.' She dropped her top. 'I can just show them that, and it will appear as though I was really shot but survived.'

'Ok…' Henry breathed, both in relief and shock. 'Ok. But Jo?'

'Mmm?' She nodded.

'I'm going to tell you something, and it's the truth, I swear. I am immortal.'

 **Ok I'm going to try and get the next chapter finished ready to go by the tomorrow or the next day, but I have to study for my physics exam next week, and then after that I have another 7 exams and they are important ones so no promises...**

 **Thank you to everyone reading this story, and a special thank you to superlc529 and Kythe42 who leave me regular, lovely reviews. Thank you, merci, gracias!**

 **Si vous** **êtes** **français et vous lisez mon histoire de forever, puis bonjour ! Bienvenue et j'espère que vous aimez mon histoire !**


	13. Chapter 13

**So I hear I posted the wrong chapter before sorry guys! Here is the real one:**

 **Hey guys! Thanks so much for 50 followers wow that's my biggest amount on all my stories so far... ok so this will probably be the last update for a while, as exams start in a few days and I need to study... anyway I hope you like this chapter and hopefully I'll be able to post maybe one or two times in the next month...**

Jo stared at Henry. 'You've got to be kidding me, Henry. This again?'

'Listen, Jo, please.' Henry's voice wavered slightly, coming to join her at the table. 'It's the truth. Please, I wouldn't lie to you.' His eyes held hers, beseeching her to see he was telling her the truth. Jo's mouth opened and closed a few times, her head shaking slightly as she searched for something to say.

'Henry, I… I don't…' She burst into tears and pushed her chair back from the table before fleeing from the room, her feet tapping a quick, staccato rhythm down the stairs as she ran. Henry heard her run across the shop before yanking the door opened. The tinkling bell sounded before the door slammed shut and silence once again reigned in the apartment.

'Well that went well.' Abe commented from where he stood near the sink. Henry felt his eyes water, felt the helplessness and despair welling up from deep down. He heard Abe take a seat next to him.

'Henry…' His son began, 'Are we gonna talk about it? You at the river earlier?' Henry shook his head,

'No thanks Abe. I'll be ok.' He stood. 'I need to go get ready for work.'

'Are you kidding?' Abe looked taken aback, his brow folding in confusion like paper folds into origami. Only Abe's brow didn't form something beautiful or delicate. It formed something that resembled pain, dark and forbidding it took over his face until, at last, it reached his eyes. Abe's eyes portrayed the worry he felt for this father, the love, and the fear.

'You've been up all night and just had Jo run away from you two- no, three times! I think that that warrants a day off.' He exclaimed. 'Come on Henry, you can't go to work today you'll make yourself sick.'

'I appreciate your concern.' Henry said slowly, almost absentmindedly as he gathered his things, 'But I'm fine. And besides, what if Jo decided today to make her return? I need to be there, just in case.' He knotted his scarf around his neck with determination. Determination that Abe hadn't seen in his father's eyes or actions for a while now. And even if he felt that a day at home would do Henry some good, he wasn't going to take that determination away from him.

For Henry, determination wasn't something he could get easily like Jo might buy a coffee or Abe might obtain a new piece of antique furniture. It was something that came only occasionally, and only when Henry felt really passionate about something. Since Abigail's disappearance, Abe had seen it only once; when Henry was trying to find her. When he had woken up and seen that Abe had cleaned his apartment, removing all evidence of his endeavours, the light of determination in Henry's eyes had gone out, never to be seen again to this day. Something had re-lit the spark in Henry, rekindling his determination.

And Abe thought he knew what. Jo. Even though she had walked out on Henry, and not just once, but three times, Abe could see that Henry was determined to get her back, to prove to her that his story was the truth.

'Ok, ok, just go.' Abe waved a hand as though he didn't care one way or the other. 'But if you feel tired or anything, you call me, ok? And not from the river.' Abe raised his eyebrows at Henry, who smiled a little sheepishly.

'I give you my word.' He picked up his bag and left the room, feet clomping down the stairs. Abe heard the front door open, heard the tinkling of the bell mingle with the sound of traffic and people outside before the door shut, once again plunging Abe into his peaceful oasis of solitude and silence. He leant back in his chair and was savouring the last of his coffee when the door again opened, the tinkling bell drifting up the stairs. Abe figured Henry had forgotten something, so he was surprised when a low, raspy voice called up the stairs.

'Hello? Anyone here?'

'Good morning, Lucas.' Henry swept into the morgue untying the scarf from around his neck.

'Oh, um, hi.' Lucas stammered. 'Wow, you're chipper this morning… not that you're usually not, umm, chipper,' Lucas back peddled, seeing Henry's incredulous look. 'You're just usually not this chipper.' Henry chuckled, passing his awkward assistant and entering his relatively calm office.

'What have we got today, Lucas?' He asked, hanging up his coat and donning his lab coat.

'So far we have two suspected heart attacks, one stroke, four old people who died of natural causes,' Lucas fake yawned, causing Henry to roll his eyes. Everyone knew Lucas loved exciting deaths. 'and one suspicious death.' Lucas finished with a flourish, waving a file at Henry who grabbed it.

'One Alicia Hayden.' Henry read, flipping through pages. '14 years old, says her sister and mother found her dead in their apartment when they got home from a school event. Ok, let's perform an autopsy.' He handed the file back to Lucas before putting gloves on and collecting his tools from his office.

A few minutes later he and Lucas had the young victim on the table and were examining the body when the phone rang.

'Henry Morgan OCME.' Henry answered, taking off his gloves.

'Henry it's Hanson, get up now you'll never guess what just happened.'

'What?' Henry asked as he signalled to Lucas to cover up the body, although he had a feeling he knew what it was.

'An ambo just picked up Jo. The hospital called and said she's in good shape so we can go and see her. I'll meet you outside the precinct in a minute.' Hanson hung up, and Henry slowly put the phone back on the cradle before turning to face Lucas, putting a mask of surprise on his face to cover up the worry and apprehension that it really showed.

'What?' Lucas asked, beginning to get worried. He and the other in the lab were all watching Henry.

'They found Jo. Alive.' His words were swallowed up by cheering and clapping, which was cut off as the door to the morgue shut behind Henry as he made his way towards he lift. As he exited the precinct he saw Hanson already sitting in his car, waiting for him.

Hurrying towards the car he realised he was still wearing his lab coat as the wind caught it, making it flap behind him. He slid into the seat next to Hanson who laughed at him.

'You look like a typical mad scientist, you know that right?'

'Mad scientist? I don't think I follow.' Henry frowned slightly as Hanson pulled away from the curb and into the flow of traffic.

'You know all those movies with mad scientists in them, the scientist wears a long white lab coat and it flaps around in the wind.' Hanson clarified. 'But it wouldn't surprise me if you haven't seen any of them.' They drove in silence to the hospital, where they rushed to the front desk.

'We're here to see Dt Jo Martinez.' Hanson flashed his badge at the women, who typed Jo's name into the computer in front of her, the blueish glow lighting up her eyes.

'Ah, the miracle women. We don't know how she survived. She's in ward 176.' She pointed them down the corridor and Henry and Hanson were off, Henry's coat still flapping behind him. They burst in the door.

'Jo!' Hanson cried, racing to stand at her bedside.

'Jo.' Henry repeated, a little less enthusiastically than Hanson.

'Hey guys.' She croaked, a small smile forming on her face as she looked up at Hanson. She didn't make eye contact with Henry.

 **Holy molys I'm so sorry about posting the wrong chapter before... Haha anyway, so the murder victim I invented, there is gonna be a small case on that, but kinda in the background. But I gave the victim my sister's name. I changed the spelling and stuff but yeah. Everyone say hi to my sister :) Anyway I hoped you liked this chapter, if you did please reveiwwwwww! And wish me luck for exams :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! I wrote this chapter in the library at school after my physics exam (I'm so happy it's over) so that I could update today! I hope you like it :)**

'Thank god you're all right! You're so lucky.' Hanson turned to Henry. 'Isn't she so lucky?' He asked, but before Henry could reply he was off again, the words leaving his mouth like a train leaves a tunnel, fast and loud.

Henry tuned out to what Hanson was saying; instead sorting through his thoughts as though they were files and his brain was a filing cabinet. It was obvious that although Jo didn't trust him when he told her his story, she trusted him enough to remain in New York and trust that he wouldn't tell anyone about her condition.

 _But why does she believe me?_ Henry asked himself. _If she thinks I am mocking her, making fun of her condition and not taking her seriously, how can she be sure I won't not take the secret seriously, and tell someone?_

By the time Hanson had finished talking to Jo his thoughts still didn't make any sense; they were scattered everywhere as though someone had tipped all the draws in the filing cabinet out onto the floor and danced in the middle, their feet kicking his thoughts up into the air and out of order.

'Henry?' He came back from his mixed up thoughts to see Hanson looking at him quizzically. 'You alright doc?'

'Yes I'm fine thanks.' Henry sent Hanson a charming smile before clasping his hands behind his back and taking a step towards the bed in which Jo lay in like a fragile artefact, hooked up to numerous wires and machines monitoring her every breath, every beat her heart makes. As Henry took that step towards Jo her heart rate increased, and in that moment Henry knew that she was nervous. Of him and what he might say.

 _I will never make her heart beat like that for any other reason but fear._ The thought popped into Henry's disorganised mind unbidden and unwelcome. He tried to file it away but it stayed, big and bright, the only thing in his head that made sense. Turning to Hanson he opened his mouth to speak, but the words that came out weren't like trains coming out of tunnels, but like smoke as it comes curling out of chimneys on cold winter mornings, curling into forms that hold different shapes and meanings for each person who sees them. They came out like clouds.

'Hanson, would you be able to get us a coffee please?' His words carried a different message to Hanson, one that said _can you please give us some time alone?_

'Oh, yeah, sure.' Hanson sent Henry a look as he exited the room. A look that unlike Henry's words only had one meaning behind it. _Why?_

'Coming!' Abe called down the stairs as he quickly dumped his coffee mug in the sink and filled it with water. He clumped down the stairs rubbing his face. He hadn't been able to grab any sleep that night, and the coffee wasn't working yet.

 _No, it is._ He thought as he felt a brief shiver run through him, waking up his brain and sending a tingle to his heart.

'Lovely morning isn't it? What can I do for you?' He asked as he rounded the corner and entered the shop. An old man stood looking at an antique lamp in the corner.

'Good morning.' The man returned with a smile. 'I was just wondering how much this lamp was. I'd like to give it to my wife, for our anniversary. When we first married we had a lamp like this but we had to sell it when we fell on hard times. We are a little better off now and I'd like to replace. I just saw it as I was walking past.'

'Yes it's a lovely lamp.' Abe smiled as he picked up the lamp to check the price on the bottom, but his smile fell as he saw the sticker.

 **$250**

He quickly ripped it off before pretending to look for a price, turning the lamp one way then the other.

'It doesn't appear to have a price on it but looking at the style I would say it's from the early 40s, so… I'd price it at about $125.' Abe place the lamp back on the table, crumpling the former price sticker up before dropping in on the floor.

'I'll take it.' The man smiled. Abe rang the bill up on the till before packing the lamp into a box. He smiled as he watched the old man carry it out, the bells above the door chiming as he exited.

It was the right thing to do.

When he was sure Hanson had gone Henry turned back to Jo, whose face was like stone, hard and unforgiving. Her arms were crossed across her white hospital gown, and Henry got a feeling she was shutting him out, protecting herself.

'Jo.' He began. 'I'm sorry.' She raised her eyebrow a little and just blinked at him, slow and lazy like a cat. It was a gesture that told him he was going to have to do better than that.

'I was insensitive, and I didn't take into account your feelings.' Henry lowered himself into the chair next to the bed and leant forward towards Jo.

'I'm sorry I disrespected your trust and, I guess I over stepped some boundaries. For that I am sorry.' Henry watched Jo waiting for a reaction. She held his gaze with her emotionless eyes, waiting to see if he would look away. When he didn't, she turned her head looking out the window. Henry saw her eyes darken with sorrow and regret, before they filled with tears.

'I… I accept your apology, Henry.' She smiled through her tears. 'I over reacted a little, but telling someone my secret is hard for me. I've only had to do it a few times.'

'Sean?' Henry questioned, and Jo's face dropped a little.

'Yes.' She whispered, fresh tears tracking their way down her pale cheeks, making her eyelashes sparkle.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while- at least it was comfortable for Jo. She was still annoyed at Henry, but he had apologised and they could move on. For Henry it was not as comfortable. The silence reminded him that he still hadn't told Jo his truth. Well, he had, but she hadn't believed him.

He fingered the folded slip of paper in his pocket. It had become dog eared and creased because he had fiddled with it so much. He was still fiddling with it when Hanson entered, putting his phone back into his pocket.

'Sorry, Jo, but we've got a lead on the case we're working on. You coming, doc?'

'Of course.' Henry stood up. 'I'll see you later, detective.' He smiled at her, reaching out for her hand. As Jo took it she felt him press something into her hand. It crinkled and she realised it was paper.

 _A note._ She thought. She looked up and met Henry's eyes. They held an apology, and she realised that whatever the note contained she wasn't going to like. Then Henry was gone, the door swinging shut behind him leaving her in an empty room. She slowly opened her hand. A folded piece of paper sat there. It was white, a colour pure and simple. A colour that she was sure would contrast with the notes contents, which Jo doubted would be simple.

She opened the note.

 **I have a history exam tomorrow but then I have the weekend before my next exams, so hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll have time to finish the next chapter then. It's more likely I'll only have time to write half though, so maybe you'll get the next chapter sometime next week.**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review pleaseeeeeeeee!**


	15. Chapter 15

**So where as my friends study breaks consist of watching TV or going on social media mine consist of writing... hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Jo's hands trembled as she opened the note. It was covered with writing, with cursive writing. The words danced across the page in front of Jo's eyes. She made herself focus, to begin to read Henry's note. Her eyes grew wide as they skimmed across the paper, taking in the notes contents. When she finished reading she took a deep breath before letting it out shakily. Jo lifted a glass of water to her mouth, the cool liquid soothing her nerves slightly. Then she picked up the paper and read the note again.

 ** _Jo,_**

 ** _I am an immortal. I don't care what you think,_**

 ** _it's the truth. I know you don't believe me, but_**

 ** _please hear me out. I was born in 1779 and_**

 ** _when I die I come back to life with not a scratch_**

 ** _on my body. You are one of the only people I_**

 ** _have ever told. Please believe me. This is the truth._**

 ** _Yours forever,_**

 ** _Henry Morgan_**

She scrunched the paper up furiously, reducing it to a small white ball.

 _Henry isn't immortal._ She thought.

 _I am the only one._

 _I am different._

 _Only me._

 _I am a freak of nature._

 _I am a mistake._

'So that's it?' Lucas asked exasperatedly, looking annoyed. 'The only suspicious death we have had all week and it's that? It's so… mundane. So boring.' He screwed up his face in disgust. Henry sighed.

'I'm sure Miss Hayden disagrees. She trusted her boyfriend, and then he turned on her. And all you can say is that it's boring?' He looked at Lucas, who squirmed under the gaze, looking sheepish.

'Yeah, but…' He trailed off as Henry raised an eyebrow at him.

'Get back to work, Lucas.' The younger man scurried off gratefully. Henry watched him go, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The smile dropped away as he caught sight of the clock. Jo must have read his note by now.

-2 weeks later-

The bell above the door chimed, shrill and insistent in the peaceful shop, startling Abe awake from where he had been dozing at the counter. Rubbing his eyes he looked up.

'Hello.' He greeted the customer groggily.

'Good afternoon Abraham.' A cold voice replied, giving Abe shivers. 'I was looking for Henry but I suppose he's at work.'

'That's right; can I take a message for you?' Abe asked, trying to wake his brain up. He knew this man from somewhere, but he couldn't think where.

'Oh no, I can just ask you. You know your father's secrets, don't you?' The man leant on the counter, his old peaked cap pulled down low over his eyes. 'Tell me Abraham. Who's the other immortal?'

'I'm sorry, what?' Abe faltered slightly, trying to think what to do. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Yes you do.' The man extended a gloved hand. 'Henry may have mentioned me to you. I'm Adam.'

Jo had been back at the precinct for almost a week and a half now, and she still hadn't mentioned the note to Henry. But then again, they hadn't really been alone together much; whenever they found themselves in a room alone together Jo would make an excuse to leave.

This is why, when she approached Henry one night as he was going to leave for the night, he was stunned.

'Of course you can come for dinner.' He said, eyes wide as he looked at her. She looked away awkwardly.

'We need to talk.' She shrugged, still looking away. 'We need to sort this.' Together they walked to Jo's car. Neither of them said a word the whole way to the shop, the silence filling the car and suffocating both of them.

'Let me take your coat.' Henry held out his hand as they entered the shop. Hanging up their coats on a coat rack he called up the stairs.

'Abe? I'm home. We have a guest.'

'Righto.' Abe's voice drifted down. 'I'll put on a couple more potatoes then.' Henry and Jo walked up the stairs to the smell of roast beef.

'Mmmm.' Jo sniffed the air appreciatively. 'Smells good.' As she peered into a pot on the stove Abe made eye contact with Henry, who put a finger to his lips; _She doesn't know. She still doesn't believe me._

'So, Jo.' Abe said as he carried the food over to the table, Henry setting an extra place. 'What brings you to this part of town?'

'Henry and I need to talk.' She explained, avoiding eye contact with Henry.

'Oh.' Abe nodded. 'Ok.' He raised an eyebrow at Henry, who shrugged. They ate in silence, the only sound the occasional scrape of cutlery on a plate or the clink of glassware.

After the meal Abe sent them through to the lounge while he washed the dishes. He sensed that they needed a little time alone.

Henry poured them each a glass of wine and proceeded to sit down on a chair. Jo remained standing.

'We need to talk.' She said. 'For us to be able to live and work together I need to know that you'll stop.'

'Stop what?' Henry asked, confused.

'Stop pretending to be immortal.' Jo forced herself to remain calm. 'We both know you're not immortal, so can you please stop bringing it up so we can move on.' Her words dangled in the air. Henry sighed.

'I'm sorry Jo, but I can't do that. It's the truth.'

'No it's not Henry!' Jo's voice rose, portraying her frustration. 'It's some little role play you've concocted for yourself and I am asking you, for the sake of our friendship, to stop!' The room was silent for a minute as they both stared at each other. Then Henry stood up.

'Well if that's all then I'll see you at work tomorrow. I suppose you can find your own way out?' His usually polite voice was laced with anger, although Jo could tell he was trying to keep his cool.

'Yes, I can.' Jo said sharply, before storming out of the room and down the stairs. Seconds later Henry heard the tinkling of the bell as the door opened before it slammed shut behind her. Henry sank down into the nearest chair. Abe watched him from the doorway. Now didn't really seem like the best time to tell him about his visit from Adam.

Jo walked into the precinct early the next morning, clutching the note Henry had given her over two weeks ago tightly in her fist.

'Lieu.' She said breathlessly as soon as she entered Reece's office. 'I need to talk to you.'

'What is it?' Lt Reece put down the file she was reading.

'It's about Henry.' Jo's voice shook slightly, but she told herself that this was the right thing to do. It would help keep her secret a secret. She found herself telling Lt Reece everything that Henry had told her, leaving out the parts where she told him about her immortality or he brought it up. She found herself telling Lt Reece that Henry thought he was immortal, without mentioning that she herself was.

'Well do you have any proof?' Lt Reece asked, 'You know we can't do anything without evidence.'

'I know.' Jo replied. She slowly opened her hand to reveal the crumpled note. 'Henry gave this to me a little while ago. Lt Reece took the note from Jo's outstretched hand carefully before reading it once, then twice, a frown forming on her face. Finally she looked up at Jo.

'Call Dr Morgan and tell him I want to see him about a case.' Jo nodded, turning to leave the lieutenants office. Just before the door swung shut behind her she heard Lt Reece on the telephone.

'Send a mental health response team up to my office.'

 **Sorry. Not. So did you like it? Review please! I have an exiting plan for the next few chapters I can't wait to write them...**

 **Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing this story it means a lot :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**HAPPY TUESDAY GUYS**

Jo was sitting at her desk when the lift doors slid open to reveal an impeccably dressed Henry, although the bags under his eyes indicated that he hadn't slept the best. He nodded good morning to her before knocking on Lt Reece's door. The door clicked open and Henry disappeared inside. Reece made eye contact with Jo in the seconds before the door shut behind Henry, reassuring her that she had done the right thing.

'You ok?' Hanson was standing behind her. 'Reece told me what happened.'

'I'm fine.' Jo was watching the office door like an eagle watches its prey. As she watched she saw members from the mental health team gather around the door like lions waiting to pounce, waiting for the order to take Henry away.

'Good morning lieutenant.' Henry greeted Reece as she shut the door behind him. 'What can I do for you?' When Jo had called saying that Lt Reece wanted to speak to him about a case he immediately knew that that wasn't true. He suspected it would be due to their shrinking friendship. Due to their fights.

'What you can do for me is explain this.' Lt Reece held out a folded piece of paper. Henry recognised it instantly, his hand trembling as he reached out to take it. He opened it, telling himself that it wasn't, it couldn't be, the note he had given to Jo. She wouldn't do that, would she? He sighed in defeat as he finally unfolded the note. Apparently she would.

'What is this Henry?' Lt Reece asked, fixing him with a look that said _don't lie to me._

Henry tried to find something to say. Something that would minimalize the damage. He found nothing.

'It's the truth.' He finally said. 'I am immortal.' Henry was running through possibilities in his head; how to make her believe. How to escape New York. How to warn Abraham.

'Wait here for a minute' Lt Reece rose from her desk and cracked open the door slightly. Henry heard her muffled voice as she spoke to someone and his heart dropped. He wasn't going to get the chance to try and make her believe him. Peering over Reece's head Henry tried to see who she was talking to, but all he saw was Jo. Her mouth dropped as she saw what Lt Reece was doing and Henry heard an indignant 'Lieu!' come from her mouth before the door once again clicked shut. Henry watched Lt Reece warily, waiting to see what she would do.

'Explain.' She said, sitting back down at her desk with her hands clasped.

'Well I was born in 1779,' Henry started, unsure with what was happening. He figured he couldn't make it any worse though; the lieutenant already had proof that would be enough to restrain him. 'I died for the first time in 1814 when I was shot in the chest. I came back to life, and since then whenever I die I return in water.' Lt Reece nodded, smiling.

'That much I had figured out.' She said, almost talking to herself. Henry was shocked. He felt his heart stop.

'I'm sorry, what?' He asked with wide eyes.

'After I spoke to you about your indecent public exposures I had to write a report. I was watching CCTV from a security camera by the river to see evidence. I noticed that you just simply appeared in the water, so I dug up other videos from when you'd been arrested and they were the same. I also found some video surveillance from when you weren't arrested, but called Abe to come and pick you up so I figured there had to be something else going on. Then there is your lack of self-preservation, you wear those old fashioned clothes and you're practically a walking history book.' She laughed at Henry's stunned face.

'I know see why you're in charge here.' He said hesitantly. Lt Reece smiled, pulling out a large folder from a drawer.

'You've led an interesting life, Henry Morgan.' She opened the folder and pulled out a newspaper clipping. 'Henry Morgan, saves little boy's life in fire.' She slid it over the desk to Henry before pulling out more papers. 'Adoption papers for an Abraham Morgan. An inmate by the name of Henry Morgan somehow escapes from Bedlam- it was in the local papers at the time. You should really think about changing your name sometime.' Henry chuckled.

'Maybe one day. I must say though I have become rather attached to it over time.' He sighed. 'What are you going to tell Jo?'

'I'll tell her that you gave her that note as a joke. A rather cruel joke, but a joke all the same. Unless you want me to tell her that you're telling the truth?'

'No, no, that's quite all right. May I ask though, who were the people you were talking to outside? Jo seemed quite upset at whatever you told them.' Henry trod carefully, as though he walked on egg shells. Lt Reece might say it was none of his business.

'Mental Health people. I got them up here so that Jo would think I was taking her seriously. She's a great cop but she has no idea about how admitting people into mental health facilities works. We'd need much more than just a note to admit you without your consent.' She smiled. 'And don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Now isn't there a body you need to go examine?'

'Thank you, lieutenant.' Henry left the room, avoiding looking at Jo. He could feel her eyes tracking his movement and he was rather grateful when the lift doors closed behind him, isolating him from her glare.

'Lieu, can I speak to you?' Lt Reece looked up to see Jo poking her head around the door.

'Yes of course. What is it?' She asked, quickly putting away the file containing fragments of Henry's life away.

'I thought…the note…what happened?' Jo struggled to find a way to broach the subject.

'Henry explained it too me. He said it was a joke. I told him it wasn't a very funny one, and you can expect an apology from him within a day or so.' Lt Reece picked up a case folder, signalling to Jo that their conversation was over.

'Oh, ok.' Jo stood up. 'Thank you.' She quickly hurried out of the office. Now Henry was going to hate her even more, and she still had no way of making him stop bringing up him immortality.

'Hey Jo we got a body.' Hanson called across the precinct, grabbing his jacket.

'Coming.' Jo grabbed her phone and followed him out the precinct.

Henry was examining the body when Hanson and Jo arrived. They wandered over, Jo keeping Hanson between her and Henry

'What have we got doc?' Hanson crouched next to Henry and Lucas.

'Female, early 20s, she was stabbed.' Henry waved a gloved hand at the stab wound before something else caught his eye. 'Appears to have a couple of bruises here on her wrist. Probably pre-mortem as her blood would have stopped pumping when she died.' He gently raised the victims hand to get a closer look and as he did so the bruise smudged slightly, staining his gloves a blueish black colour.

'That's not a bruise.' Lucas commented, earning him a look from both Henry and Hanson.

'It looks like some kind of ink. Maybe it's a message from the killer.' Hanson suggested, turning to Jo who stood behind him. Her face was a little pale, and she was staring at the victim, eyes locked on the bruise. 'Jo?' Hanson questioned, 'Are you ok?'

'What? Oh yeah I'm fine.'

'Hey you know what?' Lucas's voice reached their ears. 'I think there were bruises like this on the other body. That teenage girl.'

Jo fainted.

 **5 exams down 3 to go yay! Hope you guys liked this chapter!**

 **I just wanna say thanks to** ** _Passerby_** **who left a review on my last chapter about the whole mental institute thing- I don't really know that much about protocol or anything so that was quite useful :)**

 **Review please!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys :)**

'Jo.'

'Jo.

'Jo.'

The voices washed over her, forcing their way into her head. Jo tried to crack open her eyes to see who was talking but the light hurt her eyes and she closed them again. She groaned rolling her head slightly and she was rewarded with the feeling of someone taking her hand.

'Hey, Jo.' This time she was able to determine the voice as Hanson's. She became aware of another person joining Hanson, their combined shadow casting shade over her face. When Jo tried to open her eyes again she managed to keep them open.

'Are you able to sit up?' The person next to Hanson was Henry, his accent a dead giveaway. Jo cringed to herself. The two men helped her to sit up, propping her up against a nearby wall with a pillow behind her back.

'How are you feeling?' Henry's voice once again pierced through her foggy head.

'Tired. A little dizzy.' Jo put a hand to her forehead. 'What happened?'

'You fainted.' Hanson supplied. 'Henry's trying to work out why.'

'I think you just overdid it a little today. You're still not 100% from your injury.' Jo saw Henry's eyes flicker towards the body as though he knew there was something more than just overdoing it. Jo's eyes followed Henry's, coming to rest on the bruises on the wrist. A shiver ran through her at the sight of them. It had been almost 150 years since she had seen anything like it.

'I suggest you go home for the rest of the day and rest.' Henry was saying when Jo tuned back into the conversation.

'I remember Lucas saying something about the other victim having bruises like that as well.' Jo said, 'If I could get a photo of those then I can think about them when I'm at home.'

'I never thought I'd see the day.' Hanson laughed. 'Jo Martinez accepting that she needs to go home?'

'Henry's right, I should rest.' Jo smiled slightly. 'Plus my head is killing me.'

'I'll have tech send over a photo after I drop you home.' Hanson and Henry helped Jo to her feet and supported her as she walked to Hanson's car, while she protested that she didn't need any help. Although she must admit, it felt nice to feel Henry's warmth against her skin; his hand gentle under her elbow and his-

 _Stop it._ She told herself sharply. _He's your enemy right now._

* * *

She had barely been home for 15 minutes before her phone sounded, indicating a message. Unlocking it she saw a message from Hanson, complete with the photo of the ink marks on the other victim. She studied the marks for a minute feeling hot, and then cold, as the meaning of them sunk in, triggering memories in her mind. She grabbed her jacket and rushed out the door.

* * *

'She recognised those ink patterns, or they meant something to her, I'm sure of it.' Henry was pacing back and forth in the shop, his feet tapping a repetitive rhythm on the hard wooden floor. 'If only I could find out what.'

'Didn't she say she was from South America?' Abe's voice reached Henry's ears from where he was crouched down cleaning a piece of furniture. 'Maybe that has something to do with it. Don't the tribes there paint their bodies with symbols? Someone could be trying to get a message to her.'

'Perhaps, but we still don't know what they mean.' Henry sighed in defeat. Abe slowly stood up, his knees cracking.

'God I feel old.' He muttered before turning to face Henry. 'Adam came to visit me yesterday.' He waited for the inevitable outburst from Henry. Henry's face paled slightly before he responded.

'And you didn't think to tell me?' His voice rose slightly. 'Abraham! He's dangerous!' He calmed down a little, although Abe could see he was still angry. 'What did he want?'

'Well first off I didn't tell you straight away because Jo came home from work with you, and afterwards you seemed a little upset. He asked me who the other immortal was. I didn't tell him, told him the only immortals I knew of were you and him. Then he left. What if he found out that Jo was immortal. What if he's the one who left her that message?' Henry's face became even paler than before.

'We have to find out what the marks mean.' He said. 'Abe I hate to ask, but may I use your laptop?' His face looked pained and Abe laughed.

'Sure, just don't shut down anything I've got open I was doing the shop accounts.' Henry nodded his thanks, all but running out of the room. 'And Henry, technology isn't going to bite you.' Abe called after him, but Henry was long gone.

* * *

It took Henry several tries before he managed to log into the laptop, and several more tries after that to open up a search browser. Eventually he managed it, and a white page with the word _google_ in multi-coloured letters popped up in front of his eyes. From his pocket he pulled out the photo of the marks on the two victims which he had printed before leaving the morgue. Both bodies had the same two inked patterns on their wrists. With shaking hands he typed in a description of the first pattern, a circle with a small dot inside it, along with the words S _outh America_. While Henry waited for the page to load he studied the photos. How had he not seen it before, when you looked closely the marks looked nothing like bruises.

The results to his search flashed up on the screen, and Henry felt his heart begin to beat faster. He clicked on a link and a painted version of one of the patterns appeared in front of him. Scrolling down he read a description of what the symbol meant, and his heart momentarily stopped, before beating faster and faster. The shape symbolised the cycle of life to death to rebirth. With trembling fingers Henry searched the next pattern, an oval with two small wavy lines on each side. It represented a lake. Henry put the patterns together in his head and his heart sank as he realised what Adam's message to Jo meant.

 _If you are immortal meet me at the lake._

The nearest large lake was in central park. Like Jo had done a short while before Henry grabbed his coat and rushed out the door.

* * *

Henry walked fast through the park towards the lake. It was afternoon by now and as it was winter the sky was already growing dark and the park was mostly empty. Finally Henry saw the lake, with a lone person standing in front of it, their brown hair curling as it cascaded out from under a beanie. Henry sighed in relief and was opening his mouth to call out to Jo, to warn her about Adam, when the man himself stepped out from behind a tree and made his way over to Jo. They stood no more than 15 feet away from Henry who listened hard, trying to understand what they were saying.

* * *

'Good afternoon.' Jo whipped around to see a strangely familiar man approach her, although she couldn't place his face. 'I see you understood my message this time. When you didn't get it the first time I had to send it again.'

'By killing someone?' Jo asked angrily, 'Who are you and what do you want with me?'

'In good time.' The man sent her a sinister smile and Jo shivered as it reached her. It was like his smile sent a wave of ice through her body.

'No, now.' She raised her voice. 'What do you want with me?' He tilted his head on one side, as though he was listening for something. For someone.

'Perhaps someone else may be able to help you with that question.' He smiled again, cold and calculating. 'Come out, Henry. I know you're there.' There was silence for a few seconds before Jo heard a stick crack and Henry emerged from behind a tree.

'Henry!' Jo exclaimed in shock. 'Why are you here?'

'Hello detective.' He didn't answer her question but turned to the other man and inclined his head in greeting.

'Adam.'

 **YAY I only have one exam left, and before that exam I have four days 'study leave' so hopefully ill be able to finish another chapter or two...**

 **Please review and tell me if you liked this chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18

**HI GUYS HOW ARE YOU? I HOPE THIS CHAPTER IS EVERYTHING YOU HOPED FOR.**

'Adam.' Henry stated his name in a hard voice, his distaste for the man very apparent. 'Leave Jo alone.' He took another step towards Jo and Adam.

'Why should I leave her alone?' Adam raised his eyebrows at Henry.

'She hasn't done anything to you.' Jo could tell Henry was trying to stay calm but his anger had worked his way into his voice, portraying his feelings.

'She is immortal. You of all people should know that I don't need a reason beyond that. Just be thankful I didn't cause anyone's death while I was trying to find out who she was.' Adam sent a cruel smirk at Henry who had frozen, his face distorted in rage.

'Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?' Jo's voice broke the glaring contest between Adam and Henry as they both turned to look at her.

'You followed her here but you haven't told her about me?' Adam retrained his eyes on Henry, eyes dancing with laughter. 'Why is that?'

'Long story.' Henry replied through gritted teeth.

'It always is with you.' Adam grinned. 'Well, detective. Why don't you tell me your story?'

'No.' Jo drew her gun from where it rested against her hip, pointing it at Adam. 'Not until you tell me who you are and what you want.' To her surprise Adam just laughed. It was a hollow laugh. He drew his own gun.

'If you're going to point a gun at me I might just have to point one at you too, although we both know threatening your life won't work.' Adam's gun remained pointing at Jo, his hand unwavering. Jo felt a sheen of sweat form on her forehead as she continued to lock eyes with Adam. Suddenly Adam's hand flinched and a loud gunshot echoed through the still, quiet air. Jo felt all the air rush out of her lungs, felt her heart jolt against her ribs. She looked down, expecting to see a large red stain spreading across her pure white coat.

It was still white.

She realised she was still standing.

Still breathing.

He had shot at the sky.

The darkening sky scattered with grey clouds, threatening to rain.

Jo became aware of Henry yelling at Adam.

'Don't you dare hurt her! She's done nothing to you!' His voice travelled across the empty park. As Jo watched, Adam slowly lowered his gun.

'You're right, Henry. She hasn't done anything to me and so, for now at least, I won't shoot her.' He sent his crocodile grin at Jo again. 'But if she doesn't tell me her story about her immortality, she might find herself on the receiving end of a bullet anyway.'

Jo's brain was racing 100 miles an hour. She was trying to think of a way she could get both her and Henry out of this situation. With Henry still alive. She reached deep into her brain, trying to think of a solution to the rapidly escalating problem they were in.

She came up with nothing. As Adam saw her trying to think, his eyes narrowed. He assumed she was trying to avoid telling him about his immortality.

'Tell me now!' His voice was sharp and loud as it reached Jo's ears but she kept her eyes on Adam without even a flinch. That flinch came a few seconds later when he raised the gun until it was pointing straight at her. It came as she imagined the bullet tearing into her chest, ripping the life out of her body and destroying her heart.

Henry saw the flinch.

'Adam, don't!' He leapt in between Jo and the gun, his hands held out towards Adam. Jo's heart skipped a beat, as her mind imagined Henry getting shot for her.

'Henry, move!' Her voice rose as her worry grew. 'Henry, I'm immortal, remember! I don't want you to die for me!' In the decreasing light Jo saw a look of confusion creep across Adam's face for a minute before it disappeared, replaced with a look of mirth and amusement.

'Oh this just keeps getting better and better.' He said with a low chuckle. 'You see, I assumed she knew but apparently, you haven't told her.' He was talking to Henry now, ignoring Jo. 'You need to work on your trust, Henry. You didn't trust Abigail either but she turned out to be the most trustworthy person you've ever known. She even died for you.' From where Jo was standing she saw Henry's posture tense, but she couldn't see the hate that clouded his face.

'What the hell is going on?' Jo raised her voice. 'Can someone please tell me what is happening?' She was lost in a maze of confusion, every word Henry and Adam spoke sending her deeper and deeper with less hope of finding her way out.

Neither Henry or Adam heard her; Adam was holding Henry's glare with a look of contentment while Henry stared at him with eyes filled with disgust. Suddenly he lunge forward, arms outstretched to grab at Adam. For a moment he hung in the dusk sky, the city lit up behind him with thousands of twinkling lights, before a large crack split the air and Henry crumpled to the ground. Barely had he hit the ground had Adam disappeared into the growing darkness, just another dark shape amongst the trees. Now it was Jo's turn to face the pain of her partner dying.

'Henry!' Jo cried, rushing to his side. He was lying in a large pool of blood, a bullet wound in his stomach just under the bottom of his old fashioned vest. His eyes were full of fear.

'Oh, Henry.' Jo said softly putting her hands on his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. It wouldn't work though, she knew that. Henry needed urgent medical attention if he was to survive. Jo felt the tears rise in his eyes as she contemplated another person she loved leaving. She reached for her phone but Henry raised a hand slowly, stopping her.

'I can call an ambulance, Henry. Don't die on me!'

'Jo, it's ok.' He smiled faintly up at her. 'I'll be ok.'

'No, you won't.' The tears were falling freely now, dripping down Jo's face as he again pushed her hand down preventing her from calling for help. 'You're dying Henry. You're dying because of me, so don't tell me that you'll be fine!' Knowing there was nothing she could do for him, she leant down and tucked her head on his shoulder, tears soaking into his coat shoulder. As she cried she felt Henry turn his head slightly to place his chin on top of her head.

'Call Abe.' He said, and she felt his laboured breath drift across her forehead, felt his lips rest a moment above her eyes before his head rolled to the side and his breathing stopped. She felt the imprint his lips had left, felt the cool wetness of his heart's blood as it dried on her skin.

Then there was nothing.

She fell forward as the body of the man she loved disappeared, leaving her alone in the darkening park.

Adam watched from the shadows as she rose from the ground clutching her phone to her ear as though it was a life line. Her voice drifted across to him.

'Hi Abe, it's Jo.'

 **FINALLY! So did you like this chapter?**

 **Review please!**

 **2 days left until my final exam :0 I'm gonna go study now byeeeeeeeee**


	19. Chapter 19

**So I'm getting the feeling that I'm not doing enough studying, but this story is clawing at my insides, trying to get out. Hope you enjoy it!**

Jo held the phone to her ear, waiting for Abe to answer. Tears still ran down her cheeks unchecked, dripping onto the ground. This whole time Henry had been telling the truth, and she hadn't believed him. She had acted so harsh towards him. Finally she heard a click on the other end of the line as Abe answered.

'Abe's antiques.'

'Hi Abe, it's Jo.' She paused for a moment, choking back tears. 'It's about Henry. He just…I saw…He was telling the truth…I don't know what to do.' She collapsed into tears again, hearing Abe swear under his breath.

'It was Adam.' His voice was low and it wasn't a question. 'Henry said something about central park, is that where you are?' Jo could hear Abe moving around at the shop, heard the jangle of keys. She nodded before realising that Abe couldn't see her.

'Yes.' She found her voice. Abe's voice came back down the line.

'I'll meet you by the main gate in 10 minutes.' Jo barely had time to agree before Abe was gone, the phone beeping in her ear. She turned and made her way towards the park entrance, her shoulders hunched against the cold and her sense of betrayal, unaware that Adam was still watching her.

 _He kept my secret, but I wouldn't even listen to his._ She felt the tears pool in her eyes again, stinging slightly. By the time they had cleared she was at the gates and could see Abe waiting for her in his car, windows fogged up a little against the cold winters evening. As she made her way closer to the car it started snowing; the delicate white flakes lit up momentarily as they were caught in the headlights, sparkling as they fell down to earth.

Then she was in Abe's car, the heaters blowing warm air at her, thawing her out. Abe pulled into the flow of traffic, an endless sea of red brake lights stretching out in front of them. They sat in silence for a moment before Abe broke it.

'What happened?'

'Adam.' Her voice wavered for a moment, memories of the afternoon flooding back. 'He pointed a gun at me and Henry put himself between us. Adam mentioned something about a woman called Abigail and Henry flipped. I heard a bang and then...' She sobbed, her heart rising into her throat. 'then he was on the ground. He told me to call you and then he was gone.'

'So you believe him now?' Abe braked suddenly as another car pulled in to the traffic jam in front of them.

'I feel so bad, Abe.' Jo admitted. 'He tried to tell me, to make me believe so many times and I refused to see it. I should have trusted him.'

'He was distraught when you didn't.' Abe turned town a side street where there was less traffic. 'The first time, when you jumped out of the car, you know how you bumped into him on the street in just an old coat?' Jo nodded, thinking that she knew where this was going. 'He killed himself that night. He hasn't told me about it and I haven't asked, but I know Henry better than anyone. He wanted you to trust him.'

Jo realised she was crying again, silent tears running down her face and dripping of her chin onto her hands. Her hands that were still clutching her phone and gun, fingers white with tension. Shakily she let out a breath, her hands relaxing on her gun until she was able to let go. It was then that everything caught up with her.

'I'm so sorry, Abe. I'm so sorry. Oh god I'm so sorry.' She was shaking, face pale and blotched with tears.

'Hey, Jo, it's all right.' Abe put a hand on her arm. 'Henry will forgive you. He loves you, you know?'

'I love him too.' Jo was breathing deeply, trying to stop crying. 'But I feel so bad.' She became aware that Abe had stopped the car.

'We're here.' He handed her a bag filled with clothes and a towel. 'You should go.' He looked out the window, pointing at some trees by the water's edge. 'He'll probably be over there.' Jo offered him a shakily smile as she took the bag, opening the car door. Her unsteady legs carried her towards the clump of trees Abe had pointed out. Her unsteady mouth called Henry's name, her unstable, quivering voice carried off in the wind. Snowflakes landed in her hair only to fall off again almost immediately. She realised she was shaking again, a mixture of shock at the day's events combined with the cold that was seeping into her bones.

 _Henry must be freezing._ She thought as she drew closer to the trees.

'Henry!' Her voice burst from her lungs, loud and strong, only to be whipped away by the wind, lost amongst the falling snow.

'Abe!' She heard a small voice calling back. 'Abe I'm over here!' It seemed to come from by the trees, so Jo hurried that way, the bag bashing against her legs as she ran.

'Henry!'

'Abe I'm here-' Suddenly he was there in front of her, in amongst the trees. His eyes widened as he saw it was Jo, and he instantly tried to cover himself.

'Jo.' Her name was flat, without emotion. Wordlessly she held out the bag of clothing and turned around while he got dressed. After a while there was a loud rustling and when Jo turned he was standing next to her brushing leaves of his clothes. Powdered white snow had already landed on his hair, glittering in the light from a nearby street lamp. In that moment Jo wanted to reach out. To run her hand through his hair. To feel the snow melt against her skin as she- her thoughts were broken off as Henry spoke.

'What?' He asked, his voice still cold and distant.

'What?' Jo repeated back to him, confused.

'You were staring at me.' Henry stated, studying her face, his eyes portraying no hint of emotion. Jo looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

'Sorry, I-' She stopped as Henry reached out a hand, his fingers brushing against her skin.

'You've been crying.' As he spoke those words she realised how bad she must look, her cheeks blotchy and red against her pale face, tear tracks leading from her bloodshot eyes all the way down her face.

'I'm sorry.' She said. It was all that was left to be said. She was turning to head back to the car when Henry caught her wrist, pulling her back to him, staring down at her. Jo barely had time to wonder what was happening before his lips were on hers and she was melting into his body, eyes closing.

His lips were gentle as he kissed her, his nose rubbing delicately against hers. She felt his eyelashes tickle her cheek as he closed his eyes. They broke apart as Abe honked the horn, gesturing impatiently at them to hurry up.

Jo looked up at Henry, snowflakes resting on his eyelashes.

'I'm so sorry.' She whispered against his chest.

'I know.' He whispered back.

Neither of them saw the other car pull up. Neither of them saw the man who stepped out. Neither of them saw anything until it was too late.

 **YAY ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I know you guys love cliffhangers so I wrote another one just for you :) you're welcome! Chemistry is calling so byeeeeeee!**

 **Don't forget to review please!**


	20. Chapter 20

**EXAMS ARE OVER YAY AND WOW CHAPTER 20 THIS STORY IS GETTING LONG! And thanks for 60 followers!**

The man stood still for a moment watching Jo and Henry, a light shining behind him casting his face in shadow. Eventually he moved, striding closer to the pair in their blissful unawareness. As he reached out a hand to tap Jo on her shoulder Henry became aware of his presence. Gasping in shock he pulled away from Jo, pushing her behind him out of instinct as he whirled to face the man, whose face was now visible in the pale light.

'Hanson?' Henry questioned disbelievingly, adding, 'You gave me a shock.' Hanson ignored Henry, sending him a look as he stepped around him to speak to Jo.

'What are you doing?' He asked quietly, pulling her by her arm away from Henry.

'What do you mean?' Jo replied indignantly. 'I can kiss Henry if I want.' At her response Hanson looked slightly awkward.

'Look, Jo. I know he helped you and everything when you fainted earlier, but he played that cruel joke on you. I just don't want you to get hurt.' Hanson's eyes appealed with Jo, making her believe that he really just wanted her to be safe.

'Wait here, I just need to talk to Henry for a moment.' Jo pulled away from him. She returned to Henry's side where he stood looking out over the water. 'I think we should tell him.' Jo finally said. 'He's just worried about me.'

'Tell him what?' Henry turned to her, his face full of fear.

'I think we should tell him of our condition.' Jo cleared her throat. 'Then he would understand.' Henry was silent for a moment, contemplating her proposal.

'I don't know, Jo.' He turned away from her and in the dim light Jo saw his jaw clench. 'You might find it easy telling people, but I don't. I've been in far too many-' He broke off with a shudder. 'What I'm saying is, I'm not sure if I'm ready for another person to know.' Jo reached up, skimming his cheek with her hand.

'I understand.' Her words were quiet but they held a deeper meaning. Henry leant into her touch, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her close.

'Thank you.' His words ruffled her hair sending shivers through her body. After a moment Jo ducked out of the embrace, turning back to Hanson.

'I love him, Mike.' She shrugged at him. 'I can't say why, but I forgive him.' She smiled hopefully and Hanson smiled back.

'I just want you to be happy. Just let him that if he hurts you he'll have to answer to me.' Hanson raised his voice so Henry could hear.

'Duly noted detective,' Henry chuckled, 'but I'm not planning on it.' He came up behind Jo, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. 'I love her too much.' Jo spun around in his arms and pulled his head down into a kiss, his arms deliciously warm around her.

'Very cute.' Hanson said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 'What are you guys doing here anyway?' At his question Jo and Henry froze momentarily.

'We were just-'

'Oh we were-'

'Um yeah we just-' They locked eyes and laughed, turning back to Hanson.

'It's a long story.' Henry finally supplied. 'What are you doing here?'

'Have you met my kids?' Hanson rolled his eyes. 'Plus there is a murder downtown and you weren't answering your phone, so I tracked it. Sorry.' He looked a little sheepish. Pulling her phone out of her pocket Jo saw there were 3 missed calls from Hanson.

'Oh. Um, sorry Hanson, but I'm still kinda dizzy and stuff.' Jo fumbled her excuse. Hanson narrowed his eyes at her but didn't press.

'Yeah you go home and rest. What about you, Henry?' He raised an eyebrow questionably.

'Sorry Hanson I promised Abe I'd help catalogue furniture tonight.' Hanson's eyes narrowed even further.

'Leave me alone with Dr Washington then.' He mumbled under his breath in disgust. 'Don't stay up too late.' He called over his shoulder as he turned to go, sending Jo and Henry a look.

'Oh no we aren't-'

'We weren't-'

'That's not-'

But Hanson was gone, his car's red tail lights disappearing in the falling snow. Jo looked up at Henry, wiping a snow flake off his cheek.

'My hands are cold.' She whispered, her breath floating as a white cloud. Henry took her hands in his, rubbing life back into them before lifting one of her ands to his lips, kissing her fingers. Jo held his gaze, leaning in to kiss him. She started closing her eyes, face upturned-

BEEEPPPPPPP

They sprang apart, hearing Abe yell at them.

'Hurry up I'm hungry.' Looking over they saw him hanging out the car window. Together, hand in hand, they crunched through the fallen snow towards the car.

* * *

'I'm sorry I didn't believe you earlier.' Jo accepted a cup of coffee from Henry as they sat down on chairs in Henry's basin. 'For years I thought I was the only one, so when you told me you were too, I thought you were making fun of me.' She raised the mug to her lips blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip.

'No I understand.' Henry brushed a lock of hair off her face. 'You went from thinking you were the only one to knowing there are at least two others.'

'Two?' Jo frowned. 'There's another?' Henry looked taken aback.

'Adam. You didn't know he was immortal?' He asked, confused. Jo shook her head, her curls catching the light.

'I thought he was just a person who had worked out that I was immortal.' She looked thoughtful for a moment. 'But you know him?'

'Unfortunately.' Henry grimaced. 'He thought he was the only one until he found out about me. Since then he's stalked me. He's my stalker, not that man I killed.' His gaze wandered over to the sport by his desk, and Jo realised that that night still haunted him. Then she remembered something else from the afternoon's events.

'What did he mean when he said at least he didn't cause anyone's death when he was trying to find me?' She felt Henry stiffen next to her.

'When he was looking for me he found Abigail. She had left me by then. Only for a break, but at the time I didn't know that. I spent years searching for her; you can ask Abraham, I was obsessed.' Henry was staring past Jo, his mind obviously in the past. 'When he found her she refused to tell him who I was. He forced her to go with him, but she drove her car off the road, and-' Henry took a deep breath before continuing. 'and she cut her own throat so she didn't have to tell him. She killed herself to keep my secret.' He trailed off into silence. Jo's brain was thinking in overdrive. The car crash, the slit throat, she had heard this story before.

'Sylvia!' She suddenly exclaimed. 'That's what happened to Sylvia, Abe's mom.' Henry inclined his head, and Jo saw a tear glisten in his eye. When he spoke his voice was so quiet Jo almost didn't hear it.

'Sylvia is Abigail.'

 **So I'm thinking this story has one or two more chapters... we'll see.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone reading and reviewing I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Honestly you guys make my day so much better :)**

 **Adieu and Au Revoir until I see you again.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Oh my gosh I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to finish this I've been coaching at my tennis club and studying and wow I've been busy but I've finished it now so it's ok and I'm offering you a huge apology please forgive me!**

 ***takes deep breath***

 **Ok so here is the final chapter! I know it's quite small but short and sweet right guys?**

'Sylvia is Abigail.' The words fell from Henry's lips, quiet and delicate. They swirled around the room, stunning Jo into complete silence. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. If Abe's mom Sylvia was Abigail, then-

'You're Abe's dad?' The last piece of the puzzle finally clicked into place. She and many others at the precinct had thought that Abe and Henry were family, but that Abe was Henry's father. They had never thought that Henry was Abe's father, because none of them believed that was possible. Jo knew it was possible, of course, but she didn't expect it. The words caused Henry to smile a little, as a mention of his son usually did.

'Yes. He is my son.' Henry took a deep breath, the cool air rushing into his lungs. 'I don't know what I would have done without him all these years. He has saved me on more than one occasion. When I thought all was lost, he put the pieces back together. Sometimes he's even put the pieces of me back together.' As he spoke Henry's voice got quieter and quieter until Jo found herself leaning in to hear his words, found herself almost reaching out to grab his sentences before his fragile thoughts were lost to her.

'Hey, Henry, it's ok.' Jo reached out, caressing the back of his hand gently with hers, her fingers whispering over his skin. 'I know what it's like. There have been times when I wouldn't leave the house; I would be so absorbed in trying to solve the meaning behind this. I hated being immortal that much. It took everything Sean had to pull me away from it and get me back on my feet. Eventually I became a police officer; I found solving other people's problems took my mind off solving mine. I learnt to let it go. Sean helped me realise that if this ends, if I die one day, that it's going to be out of my control.' Jo's voice cracked a little. 'He helped me learn to embrace the life I have. Abe's been trying to help you with that but I don't think you're quite ready to give up on the idea that there is some way to end this. But trust me Henry, there isn't. I believe everything happens for a reason. Even us.' Jo linked her fingers in Henry's, waiting for him to respond. When he didn't she spoke again, her voice soft in the quiet room.

'Henry, I know what happened that night when I returned your coat. When you had been sleepwalking.' She felt him tense, his fingers slipping out of hers and returning to his lap. 'Look, I'm here for you now, ok? We can work out this life together.'

'Thank you, Jo,' His voice was low and hoarse, and she realised he was trying not to cry. 'but I am fine.' he continued, looking up. His eyes were ringed with shades of pink, the veins in his eyes standing out brilliant red against the white like blood on snow. He attempted a smile and to Jo it was like watching the first day of spring trying to dawn after a harsh winter, the pale light struggling to melt the snow and ice.

Henry's hand reached out and he entwined his fingers with hers, the heat from his hands causing her to shiver slightly as it shot through her boy like an electric shot.

'Are you cold?' Henry asked, concerned. 'Do you want a blanket?'

'The only thing I need,' Jo gave a small suggestive smile, tightening her grip on Henry's hand and pulling him towards her. 'The only thing I need is you.'

She felt his mouth curve into a smile against hers for a second before his lips parted and he breathed a word against her skin.

'Don't ever leave me.'

Although he said it casually, Jo knew the words hid a deeper meaning. She knew if she left Henry it would tear him apart like Abigail's death and departure had.

'I'm staying right here.' She whispered back. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

 **So I'm going on holiday tomorrow so no knew story for a while maybe sometime next week if I come up with an idea.**

 **Thanks to everyone who's read this and a special huge thanks to everyone who has commented it means so much to me!**

 **BYEEEEEE love you guys *sends virtual hugs***


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